In Kebbi, physically challenged pupils are educationally blessed

The 21-year-old school was started on a temporary site in the township before it was relocated to a permanent site along Birnin Kebbi-Argungu Way last year.The school was built from the federal/state governments’ intervention fund accessed from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in 2012, according to the secretary of the state Universal Basic Education […]

The 21-year-old school was started on a temporary site in the township before it was relocated to a permanent site along Birnin Kebbi-Argungu Way last year.
The school was built from the federal/state governments’ intervention fund accessed from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in 2012, according to the secretary of the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Sodangi Diggi, who said “government earmarked one quarter of the funds for the construction of the school.”
The school has 18 classrooms, seven intermediate staff quarters for teachers and two senior staff quarters for the principal and vice principal respectively. It also has technical and computer workshops, a mosque, a standby 500KVA generating set and a motorized borehole to supply electricity and water to the school.
Diggi, who conducted this reporter round the school, said “all the necessary teaching and learning facilities have been provided for the school because of the special nature of the students. We have also provided special education facilities like Braille for the blind. The school was rated as the best in the northern states.”
As the name implies, the school is meant for physically challenged pupils including the blind, crippled, deaf and dumb children as well as slow learners. The school has a total of 475 pupils at present, Daily Trust gathered.
The admission policy of the school covers the 21 local government areas of the state and the students enjoy boarding facilities. A good number of physically challenged children have graduated from the school so far.
Apart from the basic education the students are acquiring in the school, they are also being trained on knitting, plumbing, carpentry, computer and other skills in order to become entrepreneurs after graduations.
Daily Trust gathered that while some of the graduates of the school have proceeded to other schools to further their education, others have been empowered with some working tools by the state ministry of women affairs and they have established their own businesses to eke out a living.
Diggi said: “We have not come across any of our products begging on the streets within or outside the state after completing his basic education. So, the school is helping government in reducing street begging even though begging has errorneously been tied to our religion and culture.”
He said majority of the teachers manning the school have attended special training, adding that “most of them have gone to Ibadan and Pankshin for training on special needs. Currently, three of our teachers are undergoing training in Oyo State Special School.”
He said the establishment of the school is a step towards reducing street begging in the state, saying “the school is greatly reducing street begging among children in Kebbi state and environs.”
However, the major challenges facing the school include lack of teachers as according to Diggi, the school still needs more special teachers to cater to the demands of the students, saying “although we have teachers, we still need more because the population of our students is increasing annually.”
Other challenges are inadequate support staff and modern teaching and learning equipment. According to the secretary of the board, “with a large compound, coupled with the nature of the students we need additional support staff particularly the watchmen and matrons. We have channeled our request to the government and we are waiting for its response. We also need to furnish the school with modern equipments for special education. We normally got such equipment from either Jos or outside the country.”
He appealed to the state government to come to the rescue of the school by providing it with its demands.
He said another problem bedeviling the progress of the school was the attitude of some parents, who develop the habit of retaining their children at home after the holidays, noting that although government gives the students transport money, some parents still find it difficult to return their children to the school after vacation for reasons best known to them.
Certainly, if similar schools are established and sustained in all northern states, it will complement Federal Government’s effort in eradicating street begging across the country through the construction of Almajiri Model schools.