‘The COVID-19 Pandemic and Education during a State of Emergency ’:
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Date
2022
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Southern African Public Law
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak necessitated UNESCO’s declaration of a state of
emergency regarding education. The physical and social distancing approach to
curb the spread of the virus made way for the adoption of distance learning,
which was meant to be inclusive. This article examines conceptual and historical
perspectives to determine whether distance education was adequate towards
acting in the best interests of the child with disabilities. The needs of disabled
children may vary and ‘a one size fits all’ approach cannot always satisfy these,
especially not in an environment where social barriers exist. During the state of
emergency, it was expected that the Nigerian government would provide an
environment where children with disabilities received the desired support. The
article also seeks to establish whether children with disabilities had access to
digital and mass communication devices to connect them to distance education
and also if the state of infrastructure was satisfactory in coping with the
obligations of the government towards inclusive education before and after the
pandemic, especially under COVID-19 distance education. Furthermore, the
article will focus on the level of tolerance and co-existence between able-bodied
children and those with disabilities, comparing the pre- and post-COVID-19
eras. It investigates whether inclusive education and peaceful co-existence could
be achieved by adopting indigenous languages in schools and having recourse
to African legal tradition.
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Citation
Olayinka, O.F., ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic and Education during a State of Emergency: re-assessing the Right to Education of Children with Disabilities in Nigeria’. (2022) Southern African Public Law 37 (1)