The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has launched a new set of national minimum standards and implementation guidelines to improve inclusive and special education across Nigeria’s basic education sector, reaffirming its commitment to ensuring that every child, regardless of disability or developmental challenges, has access to quality education.
The framework was introduced during a two-day National Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building Workshop held at the UBEC Digital Resource Centre in Abuja. The workshop focused on the implementation of the National Special and Inclusive Basic Education Minimum Standards, Functional Difficulty Early Identification Tool, Capacity Building Manual, and other key policy documents.
Speaking at the event, UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Aisha Garba, represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Mr. Razak Olajuwon, described the initiative as a significant milestone in strengthening the capacity of states to effectively implement inclusive and special education programmes.
Garba highlighted the urgent need for early intervention, revealing that nearly 40 percent of Nigerian children under the age of five are stunted, while about 52 percent are not developmentally prepared to begin school. She stressed that these figures underscore the importance of coordinated efforts to identify and support children with developmental challenges at an early stage.
Despite improvements in school enrolment over the years, she noted that many children living with disabilities still face major barriers to accessing and completing basic education. According to her, reports from UNESCO and UNICEF show that delayed identification of disabilities, inaccessible learning environments, and inadequate teacher preparation continue to hinder inclusive education globally.
To address these challenges, Garba said UBEC has developed three strategic national instruments, including the National Special and Inclusive Basic Education Minimum Standards, which establish measurable benchmarks for governance, infrastructure, accessibility, teacher competence, curriculum adaptation, assistive technology, learner assessment, safeguarding, and quality assurance.
She explained that research consistently shows that identifying developmental difficulties early and providing timely intervention significantly improves school readiness, literacy skills, and long-term educational outcomes while reducing the need for costly remedial support later in life.
Garba emphasized that the success of the new standards depends not only on their availability but also on effective implementation.
“Standards and tools alone cannot transform educational outcomes. Their effectiveness depends on strong institutional capacity, coordinated implementation and continuous monitoring,” she said.
She urged State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) to integrate inclusive education into their planning processes, institutionalize functional difficulty screening in schools and Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) centres, strengthen collaboration with the health and social sectors, and establish reliable systems for managing disability-related data.
According to her, effective implementation of the new framework will improve compliance with national education standards, strengthen teachers’ capacity, increase participation among learners with disabilities, and generate accurate disability-disaggregated data to support evidence-based education planning.
She added that improved data collection would enhance equitable funding, support targeted interventions, and advance Nigeria’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 4, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the National Policy on Inclusive Education.
Garba also commended the Federal Ministry of Education and development partners, particularly UNICEF and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), for providing technical support during the development and validation of the policy documents.
Earlier, the Acting Director of the Department of Special Programmes and Early Childhood, Dr. Chijioke Onwuzurike, described the workshop as a strategic effort to bridge the gap between policy development and implementation.
She noted that although Nigeria has established sound policies on inclusive education, translating those policies into effective service delivery at state, local government, and school levels remains a major challenge.
According to Onwuzurike, the newly developed documents are intended to guide planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring, and quality assurance for inclusive education programmes nationwide.
She explained that participants would receive practical training on administering the Functional Difficulty Early Identification Tool, interpreting screening results, establishing referral systems, and supporting timely interventions for children with developmental needs.
Onwuzurike stressed that achieving meaningful progress in inclusive education requires stronger collaboration between the education, health, social welfare, and other relevant sectors.
She expressed concern that Nigeria currently operates more than 45 Early Childhood Development service delivery platforms with limited coordination, resulting in fragmented services and duplication of efforts.
Reiterating the need for urgent action, she disclosed that approximately 40 percent of Nigerian children under five are stunted, while about 52 percent are not developmentally ready for school. She added that many children with developmental disabilities are not identified until they are between five and ten years old, long after the critical period for early brain development has passed.
She further identified inadequate funding, geographical inequalities, and insufficient training for teachers and caregivers as key obstacles to implementing inclusive education effectively.
Onwuzurike called for sustained support to expand capacity-building initiatives in Early Childhood Care, Development and Education as well as alternative education programmes targeted at girls.
Also speaking at the workshop, UNICEF Education Officer Blessing Afuwai reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s efforts to build an education system where every child, including those with special needs, can learn and thrive.
She described inclusive education and early identification of children with developmental challenges as essential to achieving quality education and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The workshop brought together officials from the Federal Ministry of Education, Directors of Special Programmes from State Universal Basic Education Boards, Special Education Desk Officers, development partners, disability advocacy organisations, education professionals, and other stakeholders to develop a coordinated strategy for implementing inclusive education across Nigeria.
