Use subsidy savings to fund education in Nigeria, UK government tells Tinubu

The UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO, has asked President Bola Tinubu to utilise the money saved from fuel subsidy removal to fund education in the country.

“For the next five years or so, I’m certain we won’t be having discussions about how we can mainstream some of the inclusive education elements.

“There are many major economic changes taking place, such as the changes in fuel subsidy. It should start being deployed to support the human development of Nigeria to build education and services, among other things, that young people need,” said FCDO’s representative, Ian Attfield, at the end of the Inclusive Education project in Nigeria, (Supporting Mainstreaming Inclusion so all can Learn Equally, SMILE), in Abuja Wednesday.

Dr. Sunday Isiyaku, Country Director of Sightsavers Nigeria, a nonprofit organisation, also spoke at the occasion, stating that inclusion in education remains the backbone of national growth.

He asserts that communities and all tiers of government must work to incorporate children with disabilities in decisions that affect their education and future.

He stressed the importance of inclusive education in the development of human capital and added that it was impossible to overstate the good effects it has on the lives of children with disabilities and their families.

He claimed that inclusive education was a potent tool for attaining sustainable development in addition to being a fundamental human right.

Technical Director for Inclusive Education for the Sightsavers Global Team, Liesbeth Roolvink, stated in his remarks: “We have trained many people, and we have so many champions now that could take this process forward in different places in Nigeria, and that is our dream and our hope.”

The Chief Executive Officer and Founder of TAF Africa and Convener of Disability Inclusion Nigeria, Amb Jake Epelle, was one of the panellists at the closeout discussion and brought up the dearth of teachers who had received training in inclusive education.