EXPERIENCED BARRIERS BY PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS ON ACCESS TO HIGHER INSTITUTIONS
Dada, Olubukola Christianah ph.D
Department of inclusive/special Education, college of education, kwara state university, Malete, Kwara state, Nigeria
Eni-Olorunda, Tolu ph.D,
Department of home sciences and management (child development and family studies unit), Federal university of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT: higher education is the most desirable level of education for most youth in the society. The fact that a person is with special needs does not alienate such a person from being able to access higher education. Like all fundamental human right persons with special needs must have access to higher education as stipulated in the united nations convention on Rights of persons with disabilities. This paper takes a close look into the barriers that have been experienced and encountered by persons with special needs in accessing higher education. Three research questions are generated for the study. The research design for the study is descriptive survey. Two hundred and seventy-three (273) students with special needs responded to the forty-item questionnaire designed by the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics of ANOVA and correlation 9PPMC) were used to test the study at 0.05 level of significance. The analysis of data revealed that social and environmental factors affect the access to higher education by children with special needs. A number of other barriers that also contributed to lack of access to higher education by persons with special needs include academic communication, instructional or institutional, individual and financial barriers. The government and the stakeholders have to intensify supports for persons with special needs to ensure access to higher education and to eradicate limitation to certain courses for persons with special needs. Disability policies should be enacted to tertiary institutions in Nigeria in order to eliminate barriers to access to higher education by persons with special needs.
