What does it take to set the physically-challenged free from ‘prison’?

Popularly known as A. A. Raji Special School, this 25-year-old educational institution has carved a niche for itself in the education of the physically challenged in the society. For years, there has been a concerted search for ways to eradicate the stigma which has been the lot of handicapped students in the institution, with little […]

Popularly known as A. A. Raji Special School, this 25-year-old educational institution has carved a niche for itself in the education of the physically challenged in the society.

For years, there has been a concerted search for ways to eradicate the stigma which has been the lot of handicapped students in the institution, with little success.

From the Sokoto School for the Handicap, the name was changed to Sokoto Special School. That did not solve the problem. Again, the name was changed to include the name of a former military administrator of Sokoto State, Abdurrasheed Adisa Raji. Yet the desired result, in terms of stigma eradication, was not achieved. At last, a difference was made when, about a year ago, the school was transformed into a mainstream or all-inclusive centre of learning.

Now, the school caters for the hearing-impaired, visually-impaired, intellectually handicapped and normal students who come from various local government areas across the country and even neighbouring countries.

The school principal, Alhaji Aliyu Modi Sifawa, explained it thus: “we made it into mainstream so as to reduce stigma, to remove isolation and segregation. The essence is to promote a positive attitude towards them. The blind, the deaf and others are integrated.”

He added that “when we started the inclusive system, I decided to use my daughter as example for others to emulate. I withdrew her from Unity School, Bodinga, and brought her here. She was in SS1. I wanted others to see the reality that staying with handicap did not mean you would be handicapped. Many are bringing their children here because of the quality of education. We emphasise on quality education, no vernacular, right from kindergarten. It is English.”

He explained further that those who were physically-impaired and normal students study in the same classroom and sleep in the same environment.

“We do what we call combined approach to teaching. For instance, we attach a person to take care of hearing-impaired students. The main teacher is a professional, but he cannot satisfy the need of hearing-impaired fellows because of his lack of the communication skills. So we combine.”

The headmaster argued that a school specifically for the handicaps “is like putting the handicap in the prison. It creates another problem to the child, because for example a blind can only communicate with the blind. But he needs to share experience with others. There is a unique communication between the deaf, the blind and others in this environment.”

Safiyatu Abdulkarim   is one of the students without any form of physical disability. She joined the school after it became inclusive. Safiyatu, who is in JSS2, explains the atmosphere thus:  “We relate with them fine by communicating with our hands and, by doing signs, I was taught sign language in this school. Before I came to the school, I used to wonder how I can communicate with them. But when I came here I was taught sign language and now I know how to communicate with them.”

Aisahatu Buhari SS2, who is crippled, had been in the school since 2002. She said they   enjoyed their association with others who have no disability as well as other physically challenged students.

Ruqayyah Abubakar Bello is visually impaired and she teaches Mathematics. She called on parents not to prevent their physically challenged children from going to school.

The A. A. Raji Special school was established in April 1984 with the aim and objective of giving the physically challenged children sound education up to secondary school level. It also has the objective of facilitating their integration into regular school system and into the entire community as well as provide meaningful vocational skills and job opportunity to them.

With an initial intake of seven deaf and five blind children as well as three pioneering teachers, the Abdukarim Adisa Raji Special School now boasts of over 1,000 students, 72 teachers, 24 youth corps members and 34 supporting staff.

The school statistics indicate that the physically challenged students constitute 62 percent of the school population.

At the initial stage, getting students to attend the school was a problem and the school officials had to go to each local government to urge   communities to allow such children to attend the school.

However, now it is a different story as the principal says they no longer have to go hunting for them. Last year, about 250 students wrote the school’s entrance examination. This, the principal noted, was a clear indication of the acceptance of the school.

The headmaster recalled “in the past, sometimes, whenever the school closes for holidays, I used to keep some children for about 10 days, and their parents would not come to pick them.  Now, look at how the people are now coming in. You wouldn’t understand who is handicap and who is not. They accept one another; they learn in the same environment, eat in the same place without any problem.”

He stated further that at the primary school level, boys and girls were mixed in classes, but that by the time they are in the senior secondary level, they are separated in order to protect the interest of the handicap individuals, as there are certain behaviours in them that would not allow them to protect themselves.

“They need protection from the environment  as such we need to separate them at that  stage whereby ,like the intellectually impaired lady ,the behaviour she has may not allow her  to control herself ,because she is having difficulty  in terms of control, that means she needs protection. The only thing we have to do is separate them from the opposite sex when they are older.

We established a comprehensive secondary school for the girls, JSS level up to senior secondary level.

The school produced its first set of primary six leavers in 1989/90, and then there was the question of where they go from there. Initally the school opted for an integration programme whereby its products are taken to   some regular secondary school.

The academic performance of the school has enhanced public awareness of it. In the past five years, the school has been taking the first or second position in West African School Certificate examination in the state. The school has been participating in national arts and crafts exhibition and has won various prizes. One of its students clinched the first place in the National painting and drawing competition organised by the National Museum in thestate, and he won the second position at national level last year.

Another student won the first position in the recently conducted National Science and Technology Essay competition at state level.

The majority of the physically challenged graduates of the school are said to have gained admission into post-secondary institutions, such as Shehu Shagari College of Education Sokoto, Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo, University of Jos, Yaba College of Technology, Kaduna Polytechnic and Sokoto state Polytechnic.

“These graduates become beacons of hope for physically-challenged currently undergoing their normal studies and their families”, the principal observes.

Some of the school’s products are back there as teachers. One of such teachers is Muhammad Rabah who graduated from the school in 1994. Muhammad, who is visually impaired, started teaching in the school this year.  He teaches the blind students the use of Computer.

He noted that the school was better than before in terms of the number of equipment and the general outlook of the school.

Another teacher, who was a student there is Hamza Abdullah. The deaf and dumb  pre-primary school teacher  recalled that, in the past, the teachers were very few while there were few students coming to be enrolled unlike now.

He also observed that, “teachers are more serious now and do their work better. The teachers are encouraged by the development witnessed in the school”.

In order to adequately enhance the quality of teaching and learning and equip the staff to face the challenges of current educational practices, the principal revealed that needed attention is given to the area of capacity-building by the school and the state ministry of education.

There are notable efforts by Sokoto state government in actualising the physical and infrastructural facilities development, and supply of special learning materials/equipment. Recently, it also provided an additional school bus to the institution.

Also, as a part of the state government’s effort,it proposed to open a Special Education Department at Shehu Shagari College of Education.In the process, it is constructing an adapted library and also renovating classrooms.

However, with the growing population of students at the AA Raji Special School, and their diverse needs, certain things have been identified as vital in meeting the desired objectives.

Such include the construction of more staff quarters to accommodate more teachers whose attention is mostly needed by the physically challenged in the school premises. The construction of a resource centre, laboratory, comprehensive clinic, additional hostels for girls as well as renovation of girls and boys hostels is vital.

The students also need adequate supply of adapted sports materials and equipment for sports and games to help in promoting harmonious co-existence and cordial relationship among the physically challenged students and with those without disability.