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From Policy to Practice: Closing the Compliance Gap in Inclusive School Infrastructure for Learners with Cerebral Palsy in Post-Transition Nigeria


Authors : James Onole Okhakhu

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 10 - October


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/3rxj49aj

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26Oct003

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.


Abstract : Nigeria’s Prohibition of Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act (2018) was a progressive policy commitment towards inclusive school infrastructure in Nigeria. A five-year transitional provision expired in January 2024 on compliance with accessibility requirements. Evidence consistently shows that despite the expiry of this provision, compliance in school infrastructure remains extremely low, especially in the private education sector and especially concerning the inclusive needs of learners with cerebral palsy (CP) whose involvement is most acutely determined by the built environment. This paper interrogates the policy-to-practice gap in Nigeria’s inclusive school infrastructure by presenting evidence derived from mixed methods case study data in a private international school in Ibadan, Nigeria and a systematic synthesis of the theoretical, policy and empirical literature.

Keywords : Disability Legislation, Inclusive Education Policy, Universal Design for Learning, Social Model of Disability, Cerebral Palsy, School Infrastructure, Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa.

References :

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Nigeria’s Prohibition of Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act (2018) was a progressive policy commitment towards inclusive school infrastructure in Nigeria. A five-year transitional provision expired in January 2024 on compliance with accessibility requirements. Evidence consistently shows that despite the expiry of this provision, compliance in school infrastructure remains extremely low, especially in the private education sector and especially concerning the inclusive needs of learners with cerebral palsy (CP) whose involvement is most acutely determined by the built environment. This paper interrogates the policy-to-practice gap in Nigeria’s inclusive school infrastructure by presenting evidence derived from mixed methods case study data in a private international school in Ibadan, Nigeria and a systematic synthesis of the theoretical, policy and empirical literature.

Keywords : Disability Legislation, Inclusive Education Policy, Universal Design for Learning, Social Model of Disability, Cerebral Palsy, School Infrastructure, Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa.

Paper Submission Last Date
31 - October - 2026

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