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INSTITUTIONAL DIMENSIONS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICY IN NIGERIA
This article examines institutional dimensions of inclusive education policy in Nigeria, probing the disparities between policy articulation and implementation at the ground level. Despite Nigeria’s ratification of the Salamanca Statement (1994), the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD, 2006), and also domesticated both frameworks through its National Policy on Education (2014) and the National Policy on Inclusive Education (2017; revised in 2023), the provision of inclusive education remains breached and inequitable across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. This article presents a state-of-the-art review from a reputable databases and identifies five key institutional dimensions of implementation which define the education system in Nigeria. The findings from this analysis reveal that deficits exist across each of the five dimensions identified; however, the major obstacles to inclusive education identified in the literature are insufficient teacher education and training, inadequate funding, poor inter-agency collaboration, social and cultural norms from the society leading to low self-confidence and self-esteem from persons with disabilities. The article provides conclusion for systemic reform by calling for the collection of disaggregated data and the strengthening of accountability mechanisms that will improve the success of inclusive education in Nigeria.