The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has unveiled national minimum standards and implementation guidelines aimed at strengthening inclusive and special education in Nigeria’s basic education system, with a renewed focus on ensuring that no child is denied access to quality education because of disability or developmental challenges.
The initiative was unveiled during a two-day National Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building Workshop on the utilization of the National Special and Inclusive Basic Education Minimum Standards, Implementation Guidelines, Functional Difficulty Early Identification Tool and Capacity Building Manual, held at the UBEC Digital Resource Centre in Abuja.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Aisha Garba, represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Mr. Razak Olajuwon, described the initiative as a major step towards strengthening state capacity for effective implementation of inclusive and special education across the country.
She spoke against the backdrop of revelation that about 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five are stunted, while approximately 52 per cent are not developmentally ready for school, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated early intervention.
Garba noted that despite improvements in school enrolment over the years, children with disabilities continue to face significant barriers to accessing and completing basic education, citing reports by United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UNICEF indicating that inadequate early identification of disabilities, inaccessible learning environments and limited teacher preparedness remain major obstacles to inclusive education globally.
According to her, UBEC has developed three strategic national instruments to address these challenges, noting that the National Special and Inclusive Basic Education Minimum Standards provide measurable benchmarks covering governance, infrastructure, accessibility, teacher competencies, curriculum adaptation, assistive technology, learner assessment, safeguarding and quality assurance. She stressed that international evidence has shown that early identification and intervention significantly improve school readiness, literacy development and long-term educational outcomes while reducing the cost of remedial interventions later in life.
‘Standards and tools alone cannot transform educational outcomes. Their effectiveness depends on strong institutional capacity, coordinated implementation and continuous monitoring,’ she said.
She urged every SUBEB to strengthen inclusive education planning, institutionalise functional difficulty screening in schools and Early Childhood Care Development and Education (ECCDE) centres, improve referral pathways with the health and social sectors, and establish reliable data management systems.
The UBEC boss said implementation of the national documents would improve school compliance with minimum standards, enhance teacher effectiveness, increase learner participation and generate reliable disability-disaggregated data to support national education planning.
She noted that such data would strengthen equitable financing, targeted interventions and Nigeria’s commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal Four (SDG 4), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the National Policy on Inclusive Education.
Garba commended the Federal Ministry of Education as well as development partners, particularly UNICEF and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), for providing technical support during the development and validation of the documents. Earlier, the Acting Director of the Department of Special Programmes and Early Childhood, Dr. Chijioke Onwuzurike, described the workshop as a strategic intervention designed to bridge the gap between policy formulation and implementation.
She said while Nigeria has developed sound policy frameworks for inclusive education, effective service delivery at state, local government and school levels remains a challenge.
According to him, the newly developed documents are intended to guide planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and quality assurance of inclusive education programmes nationwide.
Onwuzurike disclosed that the workshop would provide participants with practical skills on administering the Functional Difficulty Early Identification Tool, interpreting screening outcomes, establishing referral pathways and supporting timely interventions.
She stressed that strengthening inclusive education requires collaboration across education, health, social welfare and other sectors.
The acting director expressed concern that Nigeria currently operates more than 45 Early Childhood Development service delivery platforms across different sectors with limited coordination, resulting in fragmented services and duplication of efforts.
She revealed that about 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five are stunted, while approximately 52 per cent are not developmentally ready for school, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated early intervention.
According to her, many children with developmental disabilities are not identified until between the ages of five and ten, long after the critical period for early brain development.
She also identified inadequate financing, geographical disparities and insufficient training for frontline teachers and caregivers as major constraints to effective implementation of inclusive education.
Onwuzurike appealed for continued support to expand capacity building on Early Childhood Care, Development and Education as well as alternative education programmes for girls.
In her goodwill message, UNICEF Education Officer, Blessing Afuwai, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in building an inclusive education system where every child can learn and thrive.
She described inclusive education and early identification of children with special needs as critical to achieving quality education and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The workshop brought together representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education, SUBEB Directors of Special Programmes, Special Education Desk Officers, development partners, disability advocacy groups, education professionals and other stakeholders to chart a coordinated pathway for implementing inclusive education across Nigeria.