Advocacy:Yobe to establish schools for persons with special needs

 by Yusuf A Yusuf

Determined to provide inclusive education that would impact society as a whole and carry the people with special needs along, Yobe state government has announced plans to establish additional secondary school for the people with disability in the state.

This was made known on Monday by the Commissioner Ministry of basic and secondary education, Professor Adam Idriss, when he received a team of Community of Practice (CoPs)who paid him an advocacy visit in his office in Damaturu.

Blueprint report that the advocacy visits by the CoPs team, led by Mohammed Kime was aimed at promoting transparency and enhance social accountability in the state.

During the visit, the Basic and Secondary schools Commissioner who was represented by the Director Schools Management, Bukar Modu Adam, said the state had earlier sponsored special needs students to Maiduguri and other states, hence the need for the state to have it own secondary school as it is government’s responsibility to educate it citizens.

He revealed that the ministry will partner collage of education Gashua in order to introduce a diploma and NCE courses for the people with special needs in the state.

He further noted that,”even if we established the school, we lacked trained teaches who will teach these special needs students in the state, therefore there needs for the teachers training too in the state.

“Because we searched for those teachers from far other states and even if they were found,most of them don’t want to stay in the state,” he said .

The CoPs under the project trust,project by Connected Development (CODE)with the support of MacArthur Foundation has also paid an advocacy visit to state ministry of housing and urban development in the state where they discussed on the needs for disability friendly buildings in the State among other needs.