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Inside Osun special school where physically-challenged pupils are left to suffer

Eniola Adeleke*, 35, a cook at the School for Special Needs Children in the Ikirun area of Osun State, was carefully blowing air and stoking flames emitting from an arranged firewood underneath a medium-size pot when our reporter visited the premises in March.

“With the rising cost of cooking gas, we have no option than to use wood,” said Eniola, as she pointed to a heap of logs reserved for preparing foods for boarding school pupils despite the health  and environmental effects of the practice.

“We do not get enough funding from them [the government] to get adequate cooking needs. We are aware of the health risks but since there is no alternative, we have to make do with something,” she added. 

Logs used for cooking. Photo Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/Campus Reporter

The teachers also told our reporter that sometimes they resort to buying foodstuff on credit from nearby retailers so that the pupils do not go hungry as a result of government neglect. 

Established in 1985 to promote inclusive and accessible education for persons living with disabilities (PWDs) within the state, the special needs children school in Osun lacks almost everything that makes learning conducive.

A signpost with details of the school. Photo Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/Campus Reporter

Aside from the embarrassing sight of decrepit hostels and classrooms our reporter was confronted with during a visit to the school, students and teachers told CAMPUS REPORTER that they wake up every day, hoping that kind-hearted people would walk through the gate of the school and make donations to aid their learning. 

A building with broken roofs inside the school. Photo Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/Campus Reporter

“We don’t receive adequate support from the government to provide the needs of these special children,” Kemisola Johnson*, a senior teacher in the school said. “Some pupils would sleep on the floor or mats due to limited numbers of bed spaces available compared to their population and this made them susceptible to cold and we would become powerless to treat them because the sickbay in the school has gone into extinction.” 

Uninhabitable condition of the bed spaces in the school. Photo Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/Campus Reporter

While the challenges in the school threaten the quality education of the pupils, they also affect the morale of the teachers, who said they have on several occasions informed the state government of their needs.

However, some structures are being renovated by donors, our reporter learnt.

A toilet facility renovated by the Rotary E-Club.  Photo Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/Campus Reporter

Insecurity 

When a part of the school fence fell down some months ago, the management informed the government but nothing was done to safeguard the students until a non-governmental organisation took the responsibility of renovating the broken fence. 

Though gated, the absence of security guards at the entrance poses threats to the security of pupils and their teachers, as vital learning equipment is usually carted away by thieves who often raid the school premises at night.

“As big as this school is, there is no security. When we went on holiday at a time last year, some hoodlums came and stole things we use in teaching the pupils, including the generator. This vandalism really affected our daily operations,” Bola Owoyemi*, another teacher explained.

The school gate without security guards. Photo Credit: Mohammed Taoheed/Campus Reporter

Also, while attempts to rape female pupils by some intruders had in the past failed, there have been cases of missing pupils as a result of lack of adequate security in recent times.

“Some pupils will go out of the premises and we will struggle while looking for them because there is no security to protect them,”  Adebiyi Ruth*, a senior teacher, told CAMPUS REPORTER. 

“In fact, some are beyond our control and we had to resort to reporting to the nearest police station.  When we do this, we will all sit in school till such a child is found. A child may go missing for one week until police find him or her. This school is the only special primary school in the state and we are pleading with the government for more support.”

Scary data

Like the special children in Osun, pupils with physical challenges in different states of the country hardly get quality learning support due to the poor state of schools established to take care of their educational needs. 

Some of the identified barriers include inappropriate teaching materials and methods of assessment which according to the United Nations, makes children with disabilities 27 per cent more likely to be out of school compared to their peers without disabilities.

Despite the provision of the Child’s Rights Act (CRA) that every child is entitled to free, mandatory, and universal basic education provided for by the government, ActionAid Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation that works with excluded people in communities, to promote their rights says 95.5 per cent of children with disabilities are out of school due to their condition.

Reacting to CAMPUS REPORTER’s findings, Emmanuel Kilaso, an environmentalist and climate change expert, said the state government must as a matter of urgency provide the school with basic needs including gas cookers. 

“The usage of firewood to cook inside a school environment should be stopped because burnt wood produces too much carbon dioxide which causes global warming and can result in high levels of particulate matter that are detrimental to health.

“This impact extends beyond school kitchens, it infiltrates classrooms and playgrounds. This can lead to absenteeism as it may impact the  pupils’ health.”

Kilaso added the government must prioritise quality education for the pupils by addressing the challenges through provision of special toilets, ramps, rails, braille and many other materials that will ensure no child is left out.

When contacted for comments on our findings, Raheed Olawale – spokesperson to the Osun governor directed our reporter to the state’s Ministry of Education. However, the state’s commissioner for education, Eluwole Adedipo, did not respond to calls and messages sent to him.

*Names were changed to protect the identities of the sources who weren’t authorised to speak with the press.

This story was funded by the Campus Reporter project of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).

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