CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Education and access to information are fundamental human rights of all children, but primary school pupils who are visually impaired encounter obstacles realizing these rights, thereby not meeting their full potentials. This is because the nature of their disability presents grievous obstacles to their acquiring information.
Visually impaired primary school pupils are pupils in primary schools with sight loss, which loss cannot be improved by corrective lenses to enable them read as others. Visual impairment is a disability that is associated with loss of vision. It refers to people with irretrievable sight loss and it covers a range of impairments. Vision is one of the five senses of human beings and is associated with sight. The eye has different parts that work together to create ability to see. When a part of the eye does not work right or communicate well with the brain, vision is impaired (NICHCY, 2012). Visual impairment refers to people with a wide spectrum of impairments. Ugwu (2008) asserted that it is an umbrella term referring to various degrees of defects in eye function or structure, ranging from the slightly impaired to the completely blind. Friend (2009) also opined that ‘visually impaired’ is a general term used to described people who are partially sighted or completely blind. However, the Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002, broadly defined a visually impaired person (VIP) as someone who is blind, partially sighted and whose eyesight cannot be improved by corrective lenses to allow them to read without a special level or kind of light, who is unable to either hold or manipulate a book or move the eyes to be able to read easily. In other words, any person who is not able to read in a conventional way is visually impaired.
Visual impairment is a functional loss of vision rather than eye disorder. Eye disorders that can lead to visual impairment include retinal degeneration, albinism, cataracts, glaucoma, muscular problems that result in visual disturbances, corneal disorders, diabetic retinopathy, congenital disorders and infection. It could also be caused by brain or nerve disorders known as cervical visual impairment (CVI).
The occurrence of visual impairment is attributed to many factors. According to Ugwu(2008), it can be congenital or adventitious. He explained that it results from identified or unidentified causes during the various stages of one’s life. For instance, during the prenatal stage (before birth), genetic factors, disease, congenital anomalies, drugs, accidents and malnutrition can cause visual impairment. For the peri-natal stage (at birth), it can occur during prolonged labour, which may lead to damaged brain cells or accidents resulting from the use of instrument or even excessive sedation as an inducement during delivery. In the postnatal stage (after birth), weather, disease, accident and malnutrition can cause visual impairment.
Visual impairment is classified into categories. Mba (1995) asserted that there are three categories of visual handicap which include total blindness, low vision and partial sightedness. Meanwhile, WHO identified three levels of visual capacity as normal vision, low vision and blindness. Low vision and blindness may result from three medical conditions that include reduced visual acuity, restricted field of vision and imperfect colour vision. People with low vision can read large print materials, but those who are blind cannot read anything in print. Of the three types of visual impairment, blindness is the most common. Abosi and Ozoji (1981) asserted that a person is considered blind if he cannot read and write print after all optical corrective measures have been taken.
Incidence of visual impairment is on the increase. WHO in 2010 reported that there were 39 million blind people and 246 million people with moderate and severe vision impairment globally. In Nigeria, Mba (1995) estimated that one out of every four school children had some visual problems.
Visual impairment affects how a child understands and functions in the world. It can affect a child’s cognitive, emotional, neurological and physical development by limiting the range of experiences and kinds of information a child is exposed to. This is why Eguavoen and Eniola (2007) noted that a young child with visual impairment has little reason to explore interesting objects in the environment and thus may miss opportunities to have experiences and learn, and that this lack of exploration may continue until intervention.
Visual impairment puts children in a disadvantaged position. Abosi and Ozoji (1981) pointed out the effects of blindness to be: isolation, labelling, stress, disadvantage in acquisition of normal experiences, loss of earning power, dependent status, loss of physical integrity, loss of confidence in the remaining senses, and loss of visual background. Human beings throughout history have shown a wide range of negative attitudes towards those with limited or no sight. Visually impaired persons like other people with disabilities were neglected and abandoned in their homes. Some cultures view people with disabilities and handicaps as having been cursed. Even today thoughts of dependency, uselessness, punishment, darkness and evil arise among those not acquainted with persons without sight.
The traditional belief that regards children with visual impairment as those who cannot offer anything tangible, and the notion that the blind are supposed to be beggars, as well as shame exhibited by families and relations of visually impaired children have affected the number going to school. Ajani (n. d.) noted that in African and Asian countries only between five and seven percent blind children attend school.
All these obstacles and negative attitudes have placed the visually impaired in a disadvantaged position in society. The nature of disability of people with visual impairment makes them more vulnerable to educational deprivation or inaccessibility, being neglected, discriminated against and shut off from the world of information, since they are unable to see and read print materials. The most viable way to help the visually impaired persons come out of this disadvantaged position is through the provision of educational facilities.
Education is the key to overcoming the challenges of visual impairment and achieving success. Moreover, it is a human right that should be accorded to all human beings. The UN Convention on the Right of the Child (1990) in article 23(3) states that efforts should be made to ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education, training, health care services, preparation for employment and recreation opportunities in a manner conducive to the child’s achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development. From the foregoing, it is obvious that education is the way forward for producing successful contributing members of the society. With the provision of better education opportunities, proper and suitable resources and adequate support, the visually impaired will fulfill their potential and achieve greatness.
The importance of formal education to the visually impaired cannot be over-emphasized. Reasons abound why visually impaired persons should acquire education. First, education helps them overcome their visual disabilities and improve their lives and social status. Secondly, it is a means of empowering and making them become independent and self-reliant. At the same time, it enables them to contribute their quota to national development if they are employed or engaged in productive ventures. Ajani (n. d.) argued that improving life for visually impaired persons rests in education, as this is a vital gateway to job opportunities, socio-economic integration and normalization. According to him, through education, many blind people have secured high profile employment such as lawyers, judges, engineers, industrialists, teachers, and so on. He mentioned some blind Nigerians who have excelled in their chosen professions, like Professor Bitrus Gani, a blind lecturer in physiotherapy at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria; Barrister Bashiru Danlami, a Lagos-based lawyer and legal practitioner; Chief Samuel Okubanjo, a school proprietor and philanthropist; and so on. This is a clear evidence of the necessity of harnessing the innate potentials in people with visual impairment through education.
Education of the visually impaired starts from the primary level. Primary education is the level of education given at the beginning of one’s educational development. The National Policy on Education (2004) defines it as the education given in institutions for children aged six to eleven plus. Its duration is six years. It is the key to success or failure of the whole education system since other levels rest on it.
The goals of primary education are: to inculcate permanent literacy and numeracy and communicate effectively; lay a sound basis for scientific and reflective thinking; give citizenship education; mould character; develop in the child the ability to adapt to changing environment; give the child opportunities for developing manipulative skills and provide the child with basic tools for further educational development (NPE, 2004). In line with these goals the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) mounted a campaign tagged Education for All Child with Visual Impairment (EFA-VI). It is a global campaign and programme of the International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) in partnership with World Blind Union (WBU) to ensure that all boys and girls with blindness and low vision enjoy the right to education. The campaign launched in 2006 focuses on children in developing countries, where it is estimated that less than ten percent have access to education.
In pursuance of the goals of primary education, the National Policy on Education specifies school libraries as one of the educational services. School libraries play a very important role in the educational development of children by providing library and information resources for teaching and learning. Generally, libraries house information resources. A library is a collection of resources in a variety of formats that is organized by information professionals or other experts, who provide convenient physical, digital, bibliographic or intellectual access, and offer targeted services and programmes, with the mission of education, informing or entertaining a variety of audiences, and the goal of stimulating individual learning and advancing society as a whole (Whole Library Handbook, n. d.). Obviously, libraries, including libraries for the visually impaired, are expected to contain a variety of resources in different formats in order to meet the varying needs of users. Provision of information resources in the libraries play a significant role in their utilization.
The aims of school library are to participate effectively in school programmes to meet the needs of pupils, provide them with library materials and services, stimulate and guide pupils in their reading, provide an opportunity through library experience for pupils to develop helpful interest, help children and young people to become skillful users of libraries and work with teachers in the selection and use of all types of library materials (Usoro and Usanga, 2007)
Given the importance of library resources in the educational development of an individual, what is the availability of these resources in libraries, especially in developing countries like Nigeria? Library resources constitute the totality of the library holdings, which include print and non- print materials in various formats and ICT resources, with which the library meets the information needs of users. Majority of library resources are in print. Since the visually impaired cannot access information in print, there is need to repackage information in a format suitable to them, that is, in alternative formats. Alternative formats include Braille, audio/talking materials, large prints and ICT resources. Ajobiewe (1999) was of the opinion that the provision and use of alternative formats such as Braille, large prints, talking books and the availability of reading aids, volunteers and transcription services in libraries servicing persons with visual impairment in Nigeria would go a long way in making information accessible to the blind and partially sighted users.
Braille, which is the oldest format involves the use of the sense of touch. Louis Braille, who was the inventor and designer of Braille writing, became blind when he accidentally stabbed himself in the eye. Braille is a system of reading and writing whereby organized raised dots are used to represent letters and numerals that are read by touching. This was a great innovation that for the first time blind people could read. It appears to be better for young people whose fingertips are more sensitive. A major problem with Braille is that its production is laborious and expensive, thus a limited quantity of materials are produced, and these do not meet the needs of increasing number of visually impaired pupils in schools.
Audio/talking resources are another means by which the visually impaired access information. Audio resources involve the use of sense of hearing. They are audio recordings on tapes, cassettes and compact disks from books and other materials which the visually impaired can listen to, thereby providing them the opportunity of reading through listening. Audio resources are easier and less expensive to produce. They are mainly used by older people and those who met their blindness later in life. Large print materials on the other hand are materials that have their print size enlarged. They are meant to be used by people with low vision.
In recent times, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has provided new possibilities and great potential in terms of information resources and facilities for the visually impaired. A wide range of ICT facilities, also called assistive or adaptive technologies, now exist to provide access to information, giving visually impaired users equal opportunity as the sighted. ICT is a faster means of accessing information but expensive. Software are available to enable visually impaired learners access information. Some of these software are : screen reading software e.g. JAWS, screen magnification software e. g. Zoomtext and web access software e. g. Connect Outloud.
Provision of information resources for visually impaired pupils is viewed from two angles: production and distribution. The production of alternative formats is cumbersome, labour-intensive and require specialized skills that not every publisher can embark on. The nature of alternative formats demands that they be produced by specialized libraries or agencies. There are some organizations that produce information resources for the visually impaired in Nigeria. These include: Nigerwives Braille Book Production Centre Lagos, Anglo-Nigerian Welfare Association for the Blind (ANWAB) Lagos, Gindiri Materials Centre for the Visually Handicapped near Jos, Vocational Training Centre for the Blind Oshodi and Hope for the Blind Zaria.
Nigerwives is an association of foreign women married to Nigerian men with a Braille Book Production Centre in Lagos. The association produces primary and secondary school textbooks in Braille as prescribed by Ministry of Education and sends these to its state branches which in turn send them to schools that need them, mainly on request. These Braille books are also offered for sale at the same price as of the print books.
The Anglo-Nigerian Welfare Association for the Blind is another organization that operates in Lagos. Its main objective is to alleviate the educational problems of the blind by making Braille books available at a cheaper rate. Thus, the centre produces textbooks in Braille which it donates and sells at cheaper rate to schools that need them.
Gindiri Materials Centre for the Visually Handicapped adopts a community- based rehabilitation approach to provide services to visually impaired persons in Gindiri, near Jos. The centre produces Braille books in English and Hausa at all levels of education. The books are available at the lending library and are also sold at subsidized rates.
Hope for the Blind, Zaria and Vocational Training Centre for the Blind Oshodi also produce reading materials for blind students. Ajobiewe (1999) noted that beside the above centres, there are few institutions/libraries that also produce information materials for the visually impaired. Among these are Pacelli School for the Blind, Lagos and Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo. Some of the resources can also be produced in-house.
Considering the location of these centres for the production of information resources for the visually impaired, it is obvious that none of them is located in South East Nigeria. This has implications for the provision of information resources for visually impaired pupils in the zone.
With regards to distribution of information resources, the government is expected to play a key role. Since the centres are operating on the principle of free education, it is the responsibility of government to provide information resources, just as is the case in schools for the sighted. It is expected that the government procure these resources from the production centres and send them to the special schools. The extent to which this is done, especially in the South East, is yet to be determined.
Another way of making information resources available in special education centres is through donation. Some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) like Nigerwives and Anglo-Nigerian Welfare Association for the Blind (ANWAB) donate alternative resources to the special education centres. International agencies like Torch Trust of USA also provide resources to the centres. The efforts of these NGOs and international agencies supplement those of government in providing learning resources for the visually impaired. If these resources are provided, pupils will be highly motivated to use them.
Use of information resources is very important for the educational development of visually impaired pupils. It is through the use of these resources that visually impaired pupils acquire literacy skill and access information that enhance learning. These resources could also be used for recreational reading, that is reading for pleasure and personal development. Visually impaired pupils can also read the resources for spiritual inspiration and as hobbies. As visually impaired pupils use information resources variously, they are helped to overcome their disability.
Provision of information resources to the visually impaired in libraries of the developed countries like America, Britain, Australia, Canada and Netherlands is well established. They have established national libraries that adequately cater for the information needs of visually impaired readers. Library services rendered have been enhanced tremendously in volume and in formats. (Iweha,2003)
The situation in Africa is in contrast. Alemna (n. d.) noted that in most African countries, established and organized library services to the visually impaired is almost non-existent. In Nigeria the situation may not be different from other African countries. Atinmo (2000) observed that library and information services to visually handicapped persons in Nigeria were almost negligible. She pointed out that the Nigerian government has been negligent in fulfilling that part of its educational policy which promised to equalize educational opportunities for all children regardless of their physical, mental and emotional disabilities. This neglect could be in the area of providing adequate reading materials in alternative formats. Unless information resources are provided in alternative formats, the goals of primary education would be difficult to achieve with regards to visually impaired children. This is because majority of information resources that aid learning exist in a format they cannot access. The consequence of this is manifested in low educational attainment, as evidenced in the work of Ezenweke (2007) who noted that the academic achievement of visually impaired students in Southeast and Nigeria at large was unsatisfactory.
To achieve the goals of primary education with regards to visually impaired children, government has established special education centres in different parts of the country. Four special education centres/schools have been established in the zone. These are:
– Special Education Centre for the Blind, Afara-Ukwu, Umuahia, Abia State.
– Basden Memorial Special Education Centre, Isulo, Anambra State.
– Special Education Centre, Opefia, Izzi L.G.A Ebonyi State.
– Special Education Centre, Oji River, Enugu State.
Ideally, it is expected that these centres would provide a variety of information resources in various formats. However, the level of provision of these resources in these centres is yet to be determined. Though not much has been written on information resources provision for the visually impaired in the zone, it can be inferred that it is only through the provision of alternative formats of information resources that the information needs of visually impaired pupils can be met. The major task of this study therefore is to determine the provision and use of library and information resources by visually impaired primary school pupils in South East Nigeria.
Statement of the Problem
Children with visual impairment need to acquire education that will make them independent, self-reliant and contributing members of the society. This can only be achieved by means of education which is facilitated through the provision of library and information resources for teaching and learning. Except information resources are repackaged in alternative formats that visually impaired pupils can access, they will remain cut off from the world of information and hence deprived of education
