ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATION OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES IN EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES FOR CHALLENGED CHILDREN IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Lagos state Nigeria is one of the metropolitan and educationally advanced cities in Nigeria. Over the years the number of children with disabilities has been on the increase. Many of these challenged children are either denied the benefit of education or are constrained to attend schools which have not been designed to take care of their disabilities. Often times, such children are frustrated and their educational abilities are also negatively impacted. This has given use to schools which are now dedicated to challenged children. The aim of this study is to evaluate the design of these educational facilities in order to determine their application of universal design principles. The study is based on case study of schools for the challenged in Lagos state. Results indicate that many of the facilities did not conform to the universal design principles and consequently have affected learning of the children. The recommendation are made to enhance learning of challenged children through proper adoption of universal principals in planning of educational facilities. This is a novel study in Nigeria and its outcome will influence policy direction in the planning of educational facilities for challenged children in Nigeria and other developing countrie