Contemporary Practices in Deaf Education in Nigeria

Abstract

This chapter chronicles the history of deaf education in Nigeria from its 1950s, its challenges over the years, and its current practices, and offers some recipes for improvement. Deaf education was pioneered by missionaries and philanthropists who opened deaf schools in specific locations of the country, from which deaf education spread to the rest of the country. When states and federal governments eventually became involved, their major concern was taking over most of the schools (although they also established some new ones) and providing policy, administrative, and funding assistance. Deaf education in Nigeria has encountered a number of challenges, such as hostile cultural beliefs and practices about deafness and deaf persons, ignorance of the benefits deaf persons can derive from schooling, a dearth of high-quality and committed teachers, and poor funding. Despite these challenges, deaf education seems to be making moderate progress in the country, as illustrated by the increasing number of schools, teachers, sign language interpreters, and other support services providers. There remains much more to be done to standardize deaf education practices in the country, and the author offers some recommendations that would reposition deaf education to achieve for more meaningful objectives and results.