Plateau SUBEB promotes education access for special needs children
Training
By Martha Agas
Jos, Sept. 17, 2018 (NAN) In a bid to ensure all-inclusive access to quality education, the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Plateau has organised a capacity building training for special needs teachers and supervisors.
Prof. Matthew Sule, the Executive Chairman, SUBEB, Plateau, said at the training on Monday that the exercise was to ensure that teachers complement the state government’s efforts to improve education standards.
Sule said that the training, facilitated by the Universal Basic Education Commission’s (UBEC) Special Education Intervention Fund, designed to ensure that all categories of children were mainstreamed in accessing quality education.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the five-day workshop include trainings on handling children with hearing impairment, learning disabilities and visual impairment, among others.
The theme of the training is: “Best Practices in Teaching Special Needs Children’’.
“The training, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria, is to enhance the skills of special education teachers and supervisors because the sector has been neglected.
“We do not want to alienate any member of the society, especially the special needs children in accessing quality education which is the bedrock for a good future,’’ Sule said.
The chairman said the training illustrated the commitment of Gov. Simon Lalong’s administration in equipping its human capital with the requisite skills to discharge their duties.
“We are going beyond distributing instructional and learning materials to the special needs children to equipping them with skills on how to use them efficiently.
“We want the initiative sustained through the impact of this training because we are the pilot state for this scheme. This would spur other states to conduct the same workshop,’’ Sule said.
He said the schools would be monitored after the training to ensure that the teachers had improved on their skills through the performance of the children.
Earlier in her remarks, Mrs Saruaniya Mallum, the Director, Primary Education, SUBEB, urged the teachers and supervisors to fully participate in the training.
She urged the 150 participants to conduct a step-down training with their colleagues in their local government areas for maximum impact.
Meanwhile, Prof. Isuwa Jurmang, the Head of Department, Special Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Jos, said the training was organised to evaluate and strengthen participants’ teaching skills.
Jurmang, who was the Chief Facilitator of the programme, said the workshop would concentrate more on enhancing practical skills than theoretical.
According to him, special education is all about practicals. (NAN)
MAA/COF/NKO
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Editing by Oluyinka Fadare/Nkechi Okoronkwo