
PROJECT NO CHILD IS A DULLARD


The adverse effects of not meeting reading requirements often take a significant toll on children who struggle to read and pronounce words accurately. They feel so bad, isolated, and ashamed. Some act out in class or set low expectations and often drop out. According to the United Nations 2015 MDG report, an estimated 617 million children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, more than 55 percent of the global total, lacked proficiency in reading and basic mathematics. The worst hit is in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 202 million children, representing 88 percent of primary and lower secondary school age, needed to be proficient in reading.
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Neurodevelopmental Disorders have been identified as the most significant reasons for early literacy failure among children. These are disabilities associated with the functioning of the neurological system and brain. Examples include deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, learning disabilities (dyslexia), intellectual disability (also known as mental retardation), conduct disorders, cerebral palsy, and impairments in vision and hearing. The symptoms and difficulties associated with these disorders can impact students’ educational trajectories depending on the nature, intensity, and frequency of the disorder. Pupils affected by these neurodevelopmental disorders are at greater risk of meeting educational needs as well as experiencing difficulties in their learning and socialization at school.
The question is, what pedagogical values system that fosters literacy among slow learners should educators adopt? School management programs in Nigeria have remained and concentrated on traditional teaching methods that only instruct, administer home tasks, and provide exams. Recent findings and approaches have shown that these conventional pedagogical instructional methods must be revised to adequately develop children with special needs to foster improved literacy and correct pronunciations.
We cannot be satisfied with a situation where only the very best succeed, where the average is constantly disappointed and demotivated, and where anyone with a weakness feels like a failure. Reading, as we know, stimulates intellectual development and makes children more proactive. There is an urgent need to promote innovative thinking and approaches to enhance and develop a functional change in learning methods among children with special needs. Therefore, PROJECT NO CHILD IS A DULLARD is founded on the following objectives.
1. To provide personalized support to slow learners and children with special needs.
2. Promote the UNSDGs that ensure all children have equal access to quality early childhood education.
3. Support the MCNAMIC overarching objectives of sound pronunciation and effective communication