Zamfara College announces free tuition for persons with disabilities

Zamfara College of Art and Sciences (ZACAS) says it has started offering free education and accommodation for persons with disabilities (PWDs).

According to NAN, Sanusi Yakubu, the institution’s provost, broke the news on Friday in Kaduna.

Yakubu said the college has started providing free admission, registration, and accommodation to PWDs to support them and ensure their inclusion in educational opportunities.

“The issue of PWDs is one of the major components of social protection. The issue of social protection requires commitments from various stakeholders,” he said.

“We consider giving free education to PWDs considering their conditions to contribute our quota as one of the major stakeholders in social protection.”

Following the development, Amina Audu, a northwest representative of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), charged the government to hasten the enactment of the PWDs Discrimination Act.

She said this would protect the rights of people living with disabilities and afford them more inclusion in educational opportunities.

“If we can have the Act, it will help us to achieve the provision of well-designed grievances redress mechanisms for PWDs,” she said.

“Appropriate sensitisation for PWDs in all social protection programmes in the state, both in design and implementation, including capacity building for disabled person organisations.

“Private organisations should be encouraged to support SPP, especially as it affects PWDs, while the MDAs should be trained on disability rights.”