The Executive Director of Golden Links Educational Consultants, United Kingdom, Angelina Ikeako, has called on the federal government and stakeholders to make inclusive education a practical national priority to ensure children with learning differences are not left behind in Nigerian classrooms.
Ikeako, who is also a Senior Fellow of the International Forum of Inclusion Practitioners, said that while conversations around inclusive education and neurodiversity had increased in recent years, many children still lacked adequate support within the education system.
In a statement sent to PUNCH Online on Thursday and titled “Inclusive Education Must Move Beyond Conversation in Nigeria,” the education expert corrected the notion that inclusive education means simply admitting children with special needs into mainstream schools.
She emphasised that true inclusion involves creating a learning environment that supports both neurotypical and neurodiverse learners without marginalisation, neglect or isolation.
“Inclusive education is often misunderstood as simply admitting children with special needs into mainstream schools. In reality, inclusion is far more comprehensive. It is a learning system deliberately designed to support both neurotypical and neurodiverse learners within the same educational environment without marginalisation, isolation or neglect.
