Towards the actualization of the United Nations agenda of Education for all school age children, a group has unveiled plans to train at least 200,000 children across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria.
According to the National President of Forum of Inclusive Educators and Readers, FIER Onyeka Innocent, the vision of the non-profit, non -government organization include among others ;Foster Unity among educators and lovers of Education, ensure quality delivery of education to children in schools, Integrate Special Needs Children in academic, social, medical and economic activities”.
He affirmed that this resonates with the mission statement of the group which is Advocacy for Special Needs Children to be adequately trained in schools and colleges,eliminate discrimination against Special Needs Children in our society,
empower conventional Schools economically for best performance all round and to
train and retrain teachers in schools and colleges on therapeutic courses. We believe the only way to build a prosperous future is through education.
So we want to build a strong network for training children who may be disadvantaged due to no fault of theirs.Only a solid educational experience can shape the destiny of these children”.
He assured that the association cuts across ethnic, political and gender divide.
“This Association is open to School owners, Readers and lovers of quality Education who wish to impact positively on our society irrespective of their gender or ethnic group”.
The pilot edition of the training is expected to take place at the Federal capital Territory, Abuja and Port Harcourt, Rivers State before moving to other parts of the country.
According to the National Secretary of the group Ugochkwu Nwaeke, state Governments, non governmental organizations, agencies, educational institutions and individuals inclined to educational advancement are expected to partner with the agency and lend their support to make the initiative a sucess.
For ease and effectiveness of the training, Kantiyok Filibus Sambo has been appointed as the Northern coordinator, while Otunba Andrew Olamuyiwa will coordinate the South.
The training is targeted at indigent children of school age through formal training methods.
