HISTORY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Every year, children are born with various disabilities and one if the major challenges of their parents is the task of educating them to a level where they can compete favourably with their peers regardless of their disabilities, this is where special education comes in. Special education refers to the peculiar methods of educating children with special needs using various teaching aids. We have indeed come a long way in terms of its history, but before we go into the history of special education, let us take a sneak peak into how western education started in the first place. { HISTORY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA }

HISTORY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

The 1840s met the introduction of western education in Nigeria by the British. The then colonial government supported the Anglican Church Mission Society financially in the mid 1800s. Much later on, the government began the building of primary and secondary schools. The 1900s saw the spreading of the western educational network from the western and eastern parts of the country, to the northern parts of Nigeria, with the number of children going to school gradually increasing, as people saw the benefits of western education.

The western education system had a more defined structure in the 1950s. The British system of form six for the primary education was adopted. This system entailed six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary education, two years of senior secondary school education and a two year unversity preparatory program after which students sit for university entrance exams and are admitted if they pass such exams. This system continued till independence and then the civil war of the 1960s caused a lot of damage to the country’s educational network, most especially in the eastern parts.

When the National policy on education was passed in 1977 which made education compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 to 12, a section was created for education of children with special needs. It was in 1989 that more attention was paid to special education, with the blueprint on education of handicapped children allowing establishment of many special schools nationwide. Subsequently, schools where special needs children could learn with other children were established. Teachers were trained on how to effectively teach children with special needs using the various teaching aids. Special education was later incorporated as a course into the university curriculum. Scholarships were later provided by the federal ministry of education for children. An evaluation of their performance is regularly done from 1994 till date.

Special education has indeed come a long way and with regular advancements in this area, children with special needs become more and more competent.