‘Special education teachers shun schools for home lessons’

Omolara Adedugbe, Executive Director of M.D School in Lagos, expressed concern that special education teachers are leaving traditional schools to provide private home lessons for children with special needs due to higher pay in individual tutoring. This trend is making it challenging for schools to find and keep qualified teachers for neurodivergent children, which hampers inclusive education efforts.

Speaking at the school's 40th anniversary event, Adedugbe highlighted the difficulties faced by special education in Nigeria, stating that the few available teachers often exploit parents by charging per hour rates instead of working in schools. The school, established in 1986 as an inclusive educational institution, initially faced resistance from parents uncomfortable with their children being in the same classroom as those with special needs.

To avoid stigma, the school separated into regular and special-needs sections in 1988, which later became known as M.D School (Inclusive). Today, the ratio of special-needs pupils to regular students is about 1:50, a situation partly due to the loss of facilities that were previously provided by her late husband's clinical practice.

Despite these challenges, Adedugbe expressed satisfaction with the school's pioneering role, which inspired the creation of other institutions for children with special needs. She urged the government, parents, and NGOs to collaborate in supporting neurodivergent children and emphasized that developmental differences should not be stigmatized.

Former Attorney General of the Federation, Akin Olujinmi, praised the school's resilience and commitment to its founding vision.