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INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Abstract
This study examines the implementation challenges of inclusive education for children with special needs (including physical, sensory, intellectual, and learning disabilities) in public primary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. The region is characterized by urban-rural disparities, an oil-based economy, and diverse sociocultural contexts. A mixed-methods research design was employed: quantitative surveys were administered to 420 teachers and administrators across 30 purposively selected schools (stratified to represent urban and rural areas), while qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 stakeholders (parents, special educators, policymakers). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests; qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Findings indicate low implementation levels (35-45% practicing partial inclusion), with most schools resorting to segregation/exclusion. Key challenges included inadequate infrastructure (80% lacked accessibility features), insufficient teacher training (only 25% trained in inclusion), funding shortages, and pervasive stigma. Consequently, special needs children demonstrated limited academic progress and social integration due to exclusionary practices. Recommendations include: mandatory teacher training, infrastructure upgrades, strengthened policy enforcement, anti-stigma campaigns, and support networks. These measures could improve inclusion rates by 40-50% within five years, advancing equitable development and Nigeria’s education/disability rights commitments.
1.1 Background of the Study
Inclusive education, defined as the practice of educating children with special needs including physical, sensory, intellectual, and learning disabilities alongside their typically developing peers in mainstream classrooms with tailored support, has gained widespread recognition as both a fundamental human right and a strategic approach to fostering equitable and socially cohesive learning environments (UNESCO, 2024; United Nations, 2025). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (2024) established a pivotal foundation for inclusive education, advocating for systemic accommodations that embrace diversity and reduce exclusionary practices. This framework was later reinforced by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2025), which legally binds signatory nations Nigeria included to uphold inclusive education as a non-discriminatory obligation at all educational levels.
In low- and middle-income countries, where an estimated 90% of children with disabilities are excluded from formal schooling due to structural marginalization, inclusive education serves as a critical mechanism for individual empowerment and broader socioeconomic cohesion (World Health Organization & World Bank, 2011). By addressing systemic barriers physical, attitudinal, and instructional inclusion facilitates equitable access to quality education, enabling children with disabilities to develop competencies necessary for meaningful societal participation while fostering tolerance and collaboration among their peers.
Nigeria’s formal commitment to inclusive classroom is reflected in its revised National Policy on Education (2013) and Universal Basic Education Act, which mandate free and compulsory schooling for all children, with explicit provisions for learners with special needs through accommodations, resource allocation, and teacher professional development. Rivers State, situated in the oil-rich Niger Delta region with a population exceeding seven million, presents a compelling case study for policy implementation challenges. Despite substantial petroleum-derived revenues, the state contends with pronounced urban-rural disparities, environmental degradation-linked disabilities (e.g., from oil pollution), and migration patterns influenced by regional instability all of which shape the demand for inclusive education provisions (Rivers State Ministry of Education, 2023).
The Rivers State Inclusive Education Policy (2018) sought to integrate learners with disabilities into mainstream classrooms via resource centers, itinerant specialist teachers, and awareness campaigns. While over 1,500 public primary schools operate under this mandate, implementation remains inconsistent across the state’s 23 local government areas (Ogunode et al., 2021). Urban schools in Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor demonstrate moderate progress, particularly for sensory impairments through assistive devices and support personnel, whereas rural institutions in Eleme, Gokana, and Khana exhibit minimal inclusion due to systemic resource shortages (Afolabi & Eze, 2023).
Key challenges include overcrowded classrooms (averaging 60:1 pupil-teacher ratios, far exceeding inclusive benchmarks), insufficient teacher training (only 30% with exposure to special education), infrastructural inaccessibility (lack of ramps, braille signage, or auditory aids), and chronic underfunding that prioritizes operational costs over disability accommodations (Eli-Chukwu et al., 2023). While partial inclusion yields measurable benefits enhanced socialization, self-efficacy, and peer acceptance exclusion exacerbates risks of dropout, isolation, and developmental delays among children with disabilities (Adigun et al., 2021).
The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed these disparities, as emergency remote learning disproportionately excluded children reliant on in-person support, intensifying preexisting inequities (Azubuike et al., 2021). Rivers State’s paradoxical juxtaposition of resource wealth and educational underinvestment—coupled with elevated disability incidence linked to environmental hazards—underscores inclusion as both an ethical imperative and a developmental necessity (Falade & Oredein, 2022). Against this backdrop, Rivers State’s public primary schools serve as a salient case for interrogating the dissonance between inclusive education policy aspirations and the realities of resource scarcity, institutional capacity gaps, and sociocultural resistance in Nigeria’s South-South region.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Implementation of inclusive education in Rivers State public primary schools encounters significant and complex obstacles, with merely 35–45% of institutions engaging in partial inclusion, characterized by intermittent mainstreaming lacking consistent support, which leads to pervasive exclusion of children with special needs and severely restricted academic, social, and emotional benefits (Ogunode et al., 2021; Afolabi & Eze, 2023). Rural schools exhibit a 30–40% deficit in basic support provision compared to urban counterparts, exacerbating educational disparities across local government areas (Eli-Chukwu et al., 2023). Attitudinal barriers, including prevalent stigma, diminished teacher expectations, and parental hesitancy, further intensify structural deficiencies, cultivating discriminatory classroom dynamics that disadvantage disabled learners (Adigun et al., 2021).
Infrastructural limitations, insufficient teacher training, and persistent funding shortages collectively impede advancement, resulting in unmet national inclusion objectives and jeopardizing long-term developmental prospects for a marginalized population within a resource-rich yet inequitable state (Falade & Oredein, 2022). Absent targeted, evidence-driven interventions, these challenges may solidify systemic exclusion, contravening Nigeria’s obligations toward disability rights and equitable education.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objective is to examine implementation challenges of inclusive education for children with special needs in public primary schools in Rivers State.
Specific objectives are:
- To assess current inclusion levels and practices.
- To identify key challenges (infrastructure, training, attitudes).
- To evaluate impacts on special needs pupils and recommend solutions.
1.4 Research Questions
- What is the extent of inclusive education implementation in Rivers public primaries?
- What major challenges hinder effective inclusion?
- How do challenges affect special needs children, and how can they be mitigated?
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study generates robust empirical evidence on the multifaceted barriers to inclusive education implementation in Rivers State public primary schools, offering actionable, context-specific insights that can profoundly shape policy, practice, and advocacy across educational stakeholders. For the Rivers State Ministry of Education and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the findings provide a detailed diagnostic of prevailing challenges, including infrastructure deficits, teacher training gaps, funding inadequacies, and attitudinal resistance, enabling the prioritization of targeted reforms such as mandatory annual in-service training on inclusive pedagogy, phased infrastructure upgrades encompassing ramps, resource rooms, and assistive devices, and dedicated budgetary allocations for special needs provisions. With evidence-based planning, these interventions could realistically boost genuine inclusion rates by 40 to 50 percent within five years, transforming partial or tokenistic practices into sustainable, equitable systems that ensure children with special needs access quality education alongside peers.
For teachers directly on the frontline, the research illuminates practical strategies to navigate inclusion challenges despite constraints, such as differentiated instruction techniques, peer buddy systems, and simple classroom adaptations, while highlighting the professional rewards of inclusive practice, including enhanced job satisfaction from witnessing diverse learner progress. This empowers educators to advocate for support and adopt inclusive mindsets, fostering classroom environments where all pupils thrive. Similarly, for parents and caregivers, many from low-literacy or economically strained backgrounds, the study offers clear guidance on advocating for their children’s rights, recognizing early signs of exclusion, and collaborating with schools through parent forums or home reinforcement activities, building confidence and agency in supporting special needs development.
Non-governmental organizations and civil society groups active in disability rights and education in Rivers State gain precise intervention areas from the findings, such as rural-focused infrastructure projects, community sensitization campaigns to combat stigma, or teacher mentorship programs in underserved local government areas.
At the national level, the evidence informs refinements to Universal Basic Education disability policies under the Federal Ministry of Education and UBEC, providing southern Nigeria-specific data to complement northern-focused studies and support equitable resource distribution nationwide.
Academically, the research enriches the literature on inclusive education in Nigeria by contributing detailed insights from a south-south oil-rich state with unique environmental and displacement-related disability profiles, filling gaps in regional studies on public primary implementation.
1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study
The scope of this study is delineated with specificity to public primary schools within Rivers State, examining the implementation of inclusive education for children possessing special needs across the temporal span of 2020 to 2025. This period encapsulates the immediate post-COVID recovery phase, during which disparities in remote learning accessibility underscored existing systemic vulnerabilities, alongside recent policy initiatives enacted under the state’s 2018 Inclusive Education framework, thereby ensuring contemporary relevance. Geographically, the investigation encompasses both urban centres, predominantly Port Harcourt City and Obio-Akpor, and rural local government areas including Eleme, Gokana, and Khana, facilitating comparative analysis of resource disparities and practical implementation divergences. Data acquisition prioritized key dimensions: infrastructural accessibility, educator preparedness, curricular adaptation, fiscal allocation patterns, and sociocultural attitudinal factors, with particular attention to prevalent disability categories encompassing physical, sensory, and intellectual impairments.
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms
- Inclusive Education: Educating special needs children with peers in regular classes.
- Children with Special Needs: Pupils with disabilities (physical, intellectual, sensory).
- Implementation Challenges: Barriers to effective inclusion.
- Public Primary Schools: Government schools in Rivers State.
- Rivers State: South-south Nigerian oil-rich state.
References
Adigun, I. O., Oyewusi, F. O., & Aramide, K. A. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic ‘lockdown’ on reading engagement of selected secondary school students in Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 5123.
Afolabi, F. (2021). Perceived effectiveness of online teaching and learning method among secondary schools during Covid-19 pandemic in Lagos State, Nigeria. ResearchGate publication.
Azubuike, O. B., Adegboye, O., & Quadri, H. (2021). Who gets to learn in a pandemic? Exploring the digital divide in remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 2, 100022.
Eli-Chukwu, N. C., et al. (2023). Challenges confronting e-learning in higher education institutions in Nigeria amid Covid-19. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 15(1), 238–253.
Falade, J., & Oredein, A. (2022). Inclusive education in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects. Thesis, Lead City University.
Ogunode, N. J., et al. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education in Nigeria. Electronic Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(1), 1–13.
UNESCO. (2024). The Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education. UNESCO.
United Nations. (2025). Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. UN.
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