The need for all children to have equal access to education for optimal development was re-inforced last weekend at the graduation and prizegiving day of Hasab Heritage School.
? ?The proprietress of the school, Mrs. Hassanat Abubakar, said that as a result of the economic downturn in the country today, children with disabilities are unable to go to school and so inevitably end up on the streets, begging for alms.
?She said that as a proprietress and one with a passion for education, the idea of investing in education was to make ensure that the gap between healthy children and children with disabilities was bridged and to make for equality of access.
She said, “In our country today, children with disabilities are unable to go to school and they end up on the streets, begging. This has placed a lot of burden on the government and individuals too. So we are concentrating on this area to make sure that every child is born to win. We want to help them get education. Education, as you know, is the bedrock for any meaningful development.”
According to Abubakar, most of the schools in the country today are meant for the learning process alone, so the school would fill that gap and bridge the gap between well-to-do and physically challenged children and the not-so-well-to-do and physically challenged children.
She said, “The area I am most concerned about is providing a good learning environment for children with disabilities, bringing them together, and letting them see themselves as one, while supporting them.”
Speaking further, the proprietress said, “We would put in place, a conducive environment and good learning conditions, for them to assimilate well what is being taught them. We are trying to reduce the number of the children in a classroom to the barest minimum, as low as 15, to reduce the burden on the teachers.”
In a paper presentation titled Education of a child: A collective responsibility, the guest speaker, Mrs Stella O. Afuba, said that now that the period of interaction between children and their parents has reduced drastically, there was need to develop synergy between the school and home, in order for the child to be given adequate training.
In her opinion, “It is a sin of omission to forget parents in our educational policies and planning. In the light of this, the federal government in the national policy on education encourages the local people, particularly parents, to participate in schools’ management.”
Also in his remarks, the chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Salihu Ibrahim Ojapa, while commending the laudable initiative and humanitarian service of the proprietress, said the school is a proactive response to the federal government’s invitation to well-meaning Nigerians to invest in the future of Nigerian children.
Activities at the event, which included the presentation of gifts and awards to best graduating students, also featured dance and musical and drama presentations by students of the school.
The Overall Best Student award went to Khadija Ndanusa, who graduated from nursery three to primary one.
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