…..allegations are false, ploy to tarnish the image of government – Principal
By Toyin Saheed
The blind section of the Kwara State School for Special Needs has cried out for urgent intervention from the state Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq over the pathetic living conditions at the school camp.
Investigation by Sobi FM reveals that the blind female students is faced with several challenges, like sexual harassment from deaf male students.
This has necessitated a call via a letter to the Governor, Abdulrasaq calling for the sections in the school to be separated.
Speaking to Sobi FM on condition of anonymity a female ex-student and a victim explained that they started the fight for separation of both the the blind and the deaf students since 1982.
She explained that the experience was a bad one then as a student, which prompted them to write series of letters to the military administration at the time, which yielded no result. She added that they did the same during the period of Doctor Bukola Saraki, Abdulfatah Ahmed and up to the current administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, with no response.
She explained that the fact of their condition which requires depending on others to carry out basic activities, makes the blind students vulnerable to abuse.
“The present school environment is not conducive for easy movement of the blind children because the school was not designed for the blind children but for the deaf at the inception,” she said.
One of the female students of the school, who is experiencing similar problem, while narrating her experience with our correspondent, revealed that she has been sexually abused on many occasion in her hostel.
“I was attacked severally by the deaf students, even sometimes they came to our hostels anytime they noticed we were coming from the bathroom and if we report them to the authority, no action would be taken.
“I was almost raped by a deaf student on one occasion, while coming back from the bathroom”.
” I reported the matter to the school authority but to my surprise, nothing was done about the issue,” she lamented.
Another problem facing the school is shortage of classrooms.
It was also discovered that there are some class rooms in the school with no chairs and table for both students and their teachers
The present blind unit is supposed to have ten classrooms according to findings, but its only two rooms that was provided for them, a situation which has affected the number of blind students admitted.
Also, the hostels given to the blind students in the school are in a state of disrepair. According to the students the roofs are leaking and whenever it rains the hostels are filled with water.
“We don’t usually sleep when it’s raining season because we set buckets at every corner of the hostel to prevent water, even upon that all our bed, clothes and other materials will be soaked with water, as you can see, there is no bed here because it is already soaked with water,” she said.
The female student who is also calling for the separation of the blind from the deaf said that the continued staying together of the two sets of students would always bring problems.
“Discrimination among the people with disabilities themselves, because one group will always feel superior above the other especially the majority group.
“Language barrier is another problem facing both the blind and the deaf children. The two groups cannot communicate together effectively. This always leads to quarrel among them over minor issues like fetching of water. It is not possible for the blind children to eat in the dinning hall due to cheating and language barriers”.
She also explained that, the wide communication gap between the deaf and the blind can only be best explained by themselves, adding that the blind cannot see what the deaf is using his hand to say while the deaf cannot hear what the blind is trying to say.
While speaking with Sobi FM, the Principal of the school, Engineer Olododo Abdulganiyu denied all the sexual harassment allegations, saying it is a plot by some people to tarnish the image of the government and his name.
According to the principal, “They are not happy with my appointment because they want one of their people who is blind to be there as the principal of the school.
“They want to instigate the children against the government because since we have been together, the blind students will be the first to eat.
“It is only deaf students that are working in the school, they will get water to the dinning to prepare food, yet the blind will be the first to be served because of their conditions.
“The leadership of the deaf used to encourage them and help the blind. Even when many of them miss their ways, it is the deaf who are always on hand to help, which has deepened harmonious relationship between the two groups.
Speaking on the call for separation of the sections he said whatever that will be done, most follow due process.
“If they want separation, they should do it in a formal way but not by tarnishing the image of an individual or the entire schools, which is a safe abode for children or persons living with disabilities.
“I want to urge them to continue living in peace as we have been doing since all these years.
He explained that the government joined them together because they want unity among the persons living with disability.
He urged the staff of the school, and other stakeholders to join hands with him to ensure that, the investment in the school, by the government is not put to waste.
Since his assumption of office in 2019 Governor Andulrahman Abdulrazaq has shown special interest in the development of the school to realize the purpose for which it was built.
Abdulrazaq who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) visited the school as recently, as the Democracy Day last month with the children, with a show of his deep affiliation with the underserved communities.
Accompanied by school officials, the Governor inspected some facilities in the school, including classrooms recently fixed by the administration and those freshly affected by rainstorms.
He promised that issues affecting the school will be addressed soonest.
The Kwara state school special needs once hosted the government’s budget review sessions, a gesture Abdulrazaq said was meant to refocus attention on the plights of the students and other underserved communities in the state.
