This project will pay for the secondary and tertiary education of 20 indigent deaf youths and children from across Nigeria, who will be studying STEM related courses, it will also pay for signed language interpreting services in science discourse.
We have documented 120 Deaf schools in Nigeria, none of which teaches science courses to deaf students because the signed language used to teach the deaf students does not incorporate scientific terms and signing teachers are not trained to sign scientific terms. Against this lack, some deaf students are determined to study STEM related courses. This project will provide science-based interpreting services for 20 deaf children and youth selected across the country and their basic tuition.
S-DELI will hire fluent deaf signers and signed language interpreters, work with them to develop basic scientific signs for education; run free extramural classes for the 20 deaf students in senior secondary for up to six months and pay for the students' entrance exams to the University. The scientific terms will be documented as part of the indigenous signed language documentation project.
This project will not only provide language access to deaf children in several communities, it will greatly enhance deaf education in the country, and lay foundation for the further development and standardization of indigenous Nigerian Sign Language. It will provide equal education opportunity for Nigerian deaf children and reduce, if possible stop deaf stigmatization. Deaf adults with a better education will get better jobs, become entrepreneurs, which in turn enhances the country's economy.
