Preparation of Stakeholders for Effective Implementation of Inclusive Education in Contemporary Nigeria

Abstract

When the idea inclusive education first came about in 1994, not everybody believed that this new direction in special needs education will last. Skeptics believe that sooner or later the idea will die. However, far from dying, for almost two decades now the inclusive education doctrines have moved from just being an idea on paper and has become a gigantic movement. It is a movement in the sense that papers have been written and continue to be written advancing its merits to service providers and benefits to the consumers. Researches and pilot studies have been conducted to test its workability; seminars and conferences continue to be held in order to shed more light on its importance; workshops are being held to demonstrate how it works. All of the above exercises are not only important but also necessary. However, preparation of stakeholders for effective implementation of this new direction in special needs education is not receiving the attention it deserves. Stakeholders are the wheels on which the vehicle of ideas move. For a vehicle to move, easily and fast, the wheels must be oiled and serviced properly. In the same vein for inclusive education to be successful, stakeholders must be properly grounded or prepared on what to do and what not to expect. Inclusive education is rooted out of the need to provide unlimited opportunity for children with disabilities to attend the school that is nearest to them instead of having to leave home to attend a special school that may be far away from their home. Infact the Salamanca statement which advocates inclusive education states that “those with special educational needs must have access to regular schools" (UNESCO, 1994:2). Access to school is therefore the driving force behind inclusive education. Because children with special needs have to attend the schools in their neighbourhood, all those individuals and groups of individuals who can be described as stakeholders should be given the necessary preparation needed to firmly establish the practice of inclusive education.