‘Special education teachers shun schools for home lessons’

The Executive Director of M.D School in Lagos, Omolara Adedugbe, has expressed her concern over special education teachers leaving schools to provide private home lessons for children with special needs. Adedugbe states that the higher earnings from teaching individual students have led to difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers for neurodivergent children, thus limiting the school's efforts to provide inclusive education.

She made these remarks during an event marking the school's 40th anniversary, which was established as an inclusive educational institution in 1986. Adedugbe criticized the challenges of sustaining special education in Nigeria, stating that the scarce availability of teachers is a significant issue. She added that the few teachers who are available often charge per hour and exploit parents, preferring to work in homes instead of schools.

The school, being the first privately-owned inclusive mainstream school in Lagos State, initially faced resistance from parents who were uncomfortable having their children interact with those with special needs. The stigma eventually forced the school to separate its regular and special-needs sections in 1988, renaming itself M.D School (Inclusive).

Adedugbe attributes the decline in the ratio of special-needs pupils to regular pupils to the loss of facilities provided by her late husband's clinical practice. The school now has a ratio of approximately 1:50, which she attributes partly to the absence of resources that were available during her husband's tenure. Adedugbe urged the government, parents, and non-governmental organizations to collaborate in supporting neurodivergent children, emphasizing that developmental differences should not be treated as curses or sources of stigma.

The event was chaired by Akin Olujinmi, who praised the school's resilience and commitment to its founding vision. The school's Director-General, Dr Sulaimon Ogunmuyiwa, and Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof Adesola Adeosun, also commended the school for its commitment to character building and quality education.