By Faruk Shuaibu
National President, Joint National Association for Persons with Disabilities, Ekaete Umoh, says statistics shows that only two percent of Persons With Disabilities (PWD) are able to get formal education.
She said an inclusive education would help reduce illiteracy among the group.
In an event organised in Abuja yesterday to mark the Children’s Day for children with disabilities by Inclusion Magazine, Umoh blamed lack of conducive educational environment for the high rate of out-of-school children among persons with disabilities
She asked: “Why are we so uneducated? Why are we not going to school? It started from the beginning, perhaps our parents thought we’re not going to be a long-term investment, we’re hidden away because of social stigma. So, we’re hidden away.”
Earlier, Chairman and Publisher of Inclusion Magazine, Hussaini Haruna, urged parents to be positive with the challenges their children were facing as attitude was changing over the world towards PWD.
He noted that the global initiative inclusive policy initiatives would help bridge the gap in the way PWDs were viewed.
“Together, let’s fight to make Nigeria an inclusive society, where the children who are leaders of tomorrow will not be discriminated or stigmatized for the reasons of disability, but rather join hands to build a progressive nation,” he said.