The Oyo State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to inclusive education with the distribution of free Braille textbooks to visually impaired pupils in special basic schools across the state, ensuring that every child, regardless of physical disability, has equal access to quality education.
The Director-General of the Oyo State Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Barr. Ayodele Adekambi, stated this recently during the distribution of Braille textbooks to 10 special basic schools for visually impaired pupils. The event was held at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Adekambi explained that the initiative began in 2022 following discussions with the Directorate of Special Needs and Inclusion on the need to make Braille learning materials readily available for visually impaired learners.
He noted that while Braille textbooks were first distributed to secondary school students with visual impairments in 2024, the idea of producing Braille textbooks specifically for basic school pupils was conceived in 2025 and has now become a reality.
According to him, Oyo State remains the only state in Nigeria to invest in the production and free distribution of Braille textbooks for visually impaired learners, describing the initiative as a landmark achievement in the country’s education sector.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Bamidele Oyinloye, described textbooks as indispensable tools for effective teaching and learning. She stressed that visual impairment should never limit a child’s ability to achieve academic excellence, noting that Braille textbooks would significantly enhance learning outcomes for the beneficiaries.
She commended Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration and the Oyo State Agency for Persons with Disabilities for making the project a reality, adding that considerable resources and effort were invested in producing the books. She therefore urged the benefiting schools to make judicious use of the materials and ensure their proper preservation.
Also speaking, the Acting Director of Special Needs and Inclusion, Mr Aderemi Suara, said that since the creation of Oyo State, no previous administration had produced Braille textbooks for visually impaired learners. He recalled that on June 27, 2024, the state government distributed Braille textbooks, teaching aids and instructional materials to secondary schools with visually impaired students, while the current exercise extends the intervention to the basic education level.
The Braille textbooks were distributed to 10 special basic schools, namely: Oyo Special Basic School, Durbar, Oyo; Omoyeni Special Basic School, Orita-Aperin, Ibadan; H.L.A Special Basic School, Agodi-Gate, Ibadan;
C.A.C. Special Basic School, Oniyanrin, Ibadan; Special Basic School, Bioku-Alaadun, Ibadan; Oyo State Special Basic School, Ogbomoso; L.A. Special Basic School, Okeho; Special Basic School, Saki; Special Basic School, Iseyin; and Special Basic School, Eruwa.
The textbooks cover key subjects including Mathematics, English Language, Basic Science and Technology, Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Religious Studies, Pre-Vocational Studies, National Values, Yoruba Language, and Literature storybooks.
The event reached its climax with an impressive reading from one of the Braille literature storybooks by Miss Tobiloba Funmilayo, a Basic Five pupil of Omoyeni Special Basic School, Orita-Aperin, Ibadan, demonstrating the impact of accessible learning materials on the education of visually impaired children.
