Covid-19 and the Educational Sector: Challenges and the Need for Inclusive Education in Nigeria

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has become a global concern not only due to the high mortality rate attributed to the diseases, but also its adverse effect on the education sector and the economy at large. This qualitative paper therefore, examines how Covid-19 influence the Education Sector and the need for Inclusive Education in Nigeria. This paper reviewed literature that studied the relationship between Covid-19 and Education mostly in Nigeria. The findings show that inclusive education which involves granting equal opportunities to quality education for all students regardless of any challenges or socioeconomic background is not widely practice in Nigeria. This is because most of the gains accruing from inclusive education are not evenly spread across households and communities in Nigeria. Some of these benefits include: inclusive society through quality education that promote sense of belonging; improve platform of learning that reduces educational gap due to varying abilities; promotes cultural respect and opportunities to develop friendship. Some of the challenges to inclusive education include poor funding of the education sector; poverty level among Nigerians; poor electricity power supply; inability of parents to support home learning and inadequate and qualified personnel. This paper recommends school authorities to prioritise transformation from tradition to e-learning methods and enforce staff training on Information and Communication Technology.