Ministry of Youth Development To Partner NSUK on the Establishment of a Support Centre for PWDs.

The Minister of Youth Development Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim has expressed her Ministry's readiness to support the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, to establish a world-class support centre for People Living with Disabilities.

Dr. Jamila gave the indication during a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, and the Executive Secretary of the Commission for People Living Disability at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday 16th January 2024.

The Minister said that she has been following with keen interest the special attention the Nasarawa State Government's policy on education for People Living With Disability which she stated is very commendable and should be emulated by all states in Nigeria to allow for equal access to all People Living With Disability. She stated that the Ministry of Youth Development is ready to partner with the University in its quest to open up the education space and guarantee access to the disadvantaged in the society.

In his remark, the Vice-Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Professor Suleiman Bala Mohammed commended the Minister for the positive innovations she has brought to the Ministry noting that its impact is felt by all strata of youths in the country.

The Vice-Chancellor further highlighted the steps taken by the state government to increase accessibilty for people with disability in the University to include instant admission into the any program of their choice, tuition-free admission and hostel accommodation and also the creation of physical infrastructure to take into consideration the special needs of the disadvantaged, he further stated that the establishment of the support centre will further expand the frontiers of special education not just in the University but Nigeria at large as it will offer world-class service for this special set of people in the society.

In a related development, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for People Living With Disability, Dr. James David Lalu has advocated the establishment of a Degree program in Accessibility in NSUK for People Living With Disability to allow for a better understanding of the challenges these special set of people encounter. 

Dr. Lalu while commending the Vice-Chancellor for championing the cause of people with special needs lauded the initiative of the Nasarawa State Government and the Nasarawa State University, Keffi for the steps taken to ensure that equal and unhindered access to education is guaranteed to these special set of people.

He further reiterated that the need for the establishment of a degree program in Accessibility is to ensure that People With Disability know the rudiments and challenges of Accessibility from the foundation which will focus and not be limited to access to infrastructures, opportuncities in workplaces and government, just to mention a few. 

The Executive Secretary further stated that his commission will collaborate with the University and other relevant agencies to come out with a workable format to enable the two organizations to achieve their objective.

At the end of the engagement, a committee headed by the Executive Secretary of the Commission and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic of NSUK and members from both organizations was constituted to come up with policies and work plans for the project.

On the University's delegation were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Academic, Professor Abdullahi Sallau Modibbo, the Dean of Education, Professor Orame P.S Alaku, the Dean of Students Affairs, Dr. Joshua Magaji, and the Head of Department, Special Education, Dr. Mrs. Jummai Jerry.