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<h1 class="gmail-post-tile entry-title">Int’l Day Of Sign Languages: Obaseki Pledges Support, Robust Policy For People With Special Needs</h1><div class="gmail-mom-post-meta gmail-single-post-meta"><span class="gmail-author gmail-vcard">Posted By: <span class="gmail-fn"><a href="https://nigerianobservernews.com/author/kelvin/">Kelvin Okereafor</a></span></span><span>on: September 24, 2018 5:32 pm</span><span><a href="https://nigerianobservernews.com/2018/09/intl-day-of-sign-languages-obaseki-pledges-support-robust-policy-for-people-with-special-needs/#respond">No Comments</a></span><div class="gmail-post-tools"><a rel="nofollow" class="gmail-print"><i class="gmail-fa-icon-print"> </i>Print</a><a href="mailto:?subject=Int’l Day Of Sign Languages: Obaseki Pledges Support, Robust Policy For People With Special Needs&body=Int’l Day Of Sign Languages: Obaseki Pledges Support, Robust Policy For People With Special Needs https://nigerianobservernews.com/2018/09/intl-day-of-sign-languages-obaseki-pledges-support-robust-policy-for-people-with-special-needs/" rel="nofollow" class="email"><i class="gmail-fa-icon-envelope"> </i>Email</a></div></div><div class="gmail-feature-img gmail-wp-caption"> <img src="https://nigerianobservernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/obaseki-2.png" alt="Int’l Day Of Sign Languages: Obaseki Pledges Support, Robust Policy For People With Special Needs" class="gmail-disappear gmail-mom_appear"><p class="gmail-wp-caption-text">Governor Obaseki of Edo State</p></div><div class="entry-content"><div class="gmail-quads-location gmail-quads-ad1" id="gmail-quads-ad1" style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 10px 0px"> <ins class="gmail-adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px"><ins id="gmail-aswift_3_expand" style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:280px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:336px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="gmail-aswift_3_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:280px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:336px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins> </div><p>BENIN
CITY The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said his
administration is committed to supporting people with special needs in
the state, assuring that policies are being framed to accommodate their
rights to express themselves, so they can lead better lives.</p><p>The
governor, who said this in commemoration of the maiden International Day
of Sign Languages marked by the United Nations this year, said that the
state government has set up a committee to streamline the needs of
people with disabilities with a view to ensuring their inclusion and
participation in development.</p><p>According to him, “The committee we
have set up is currently working to streamline the concerns of people
with special needs and will eventually provide recommendations on
adequate structures to enable them live life to the fullest.</p><p>“However,
at the basic education level, we are remodeling the sub-sector to
improve access for every child, which includes children with hearing
disabilities.”</p><p>“On this day, it is imperative to reiterate the
need for inclusion of people with special needs in policy design to
allow society tap from their wealth of talents in driving development.
At the same time, we recognise the need to promote sign language which
will ensure that children with special needs pick up these essential
skills to better function in society,” he added.</p><div class="gmail-quads-location gmail-quads-ad7" id="gmail-quads-ad7" style="float:none;margin:10px"> <ins class="gmail-adsbygoogle" style="display:block;text-align:center;height:142px"><ins id="gmail-aswift_4_expand" style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:142px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:568px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="gmail-aswift_4_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:142px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:568px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins> </div><p>Obaseki
said the theme for this year’s event, “With Sign Language, Everyone is
Included!,” speaks to the need for inclusion, noting that reforms in
basic education accommodates the peculiar needs of persons with special
needs, which include people with hearing disabilities.</p><p>He added,
“We will ensure that children with hearing disabilities who learn
through sign languages have equal access to quality education and
benefit from the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST)
programme.”</p><p>The governor decried the vandalisation of Schools for
Persons with Special Needs, urging members of communities to do more in
protecting public schools.</p><p>According to the World Federation of
the Deaf, “there are approximately 72 million deaf people worldwide,
with more than 80% of them living in developing countries.”</p><p>The
United Nations (UN) describes sign languages as fully-fledged natural
languages, which are structurally distinct from the spoken languages.
The UN makes clear that sign languages are equal in status to spoken
languages and obligates member states to facilitate the learning of sign
language and promote the linguistic identity of the deaf community</p></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>