Dr. (mrs.) J. D. Nanjwan & Rev. Sr. Dr. Mary M. Ashi
Abstract
Special Education in Nigeria has witnessed active participation by non-governmental agencies, communities, and individuals as well as government intervention. The national policy on education seeks to fulfill that role. The policy sees the right to education of persons with disability as a universal mandate to provide and promote lifelong skill for self-sufficiency. In this paper, special education is a formal special educational training given to people (Children and adults) with special needs. The paper posits that inclusion skill still remains in the realm of theory and has not fully been put to practice as special needs education in Nigeria is still grappling with problem of policy implementation and practice. The paper listed the different groups of persons with special needs and the aims/objectives of Special education were also discussed. Challenges confronting the implementation of NPE as regard special education. Some suggested solutions to the problems of implementation of special education were also discussed. It was concluded that Nigeria has come a long way in policy making as regard special education. But there is a wide gap between the formulation of these policies and their implementation. It was therefore recommended that stakeholders should rise to the challenges by doing appropriate architectural modifications in schools and other public places. The government should strike to bridge the gap between policy making and policy implementation in special education.