A Nigerian professional institute has launched a certification and public registry for people working in applied behaviour analysis, special education and allied care, in an attempt to address concerns about training and professional standards in a sector serving people with autism, intellectual disabilities and other special educational needs.
The Nigerian Institute for Behavioural Science, Education and Care Professionals (NIsBEC) formally flagged off its operations in Lagos on Monday, 24 August.
The organisation says its certification system will allow employers, schools, families and other users of special-needs services to check whether a practitioner has met its requirements.
The move comes as Nigeria continues to face challenges in implementing inclusive education policies and providing adequate specialist personnel for learners with disabilities.
Why does the launch matter?
For families seeking behavioural intervention, therapy, educational support or daily care, identifying a properly trained practitioner can be difficult.
NIsBEC says applied behaviour analysis (ABA) and special education practice in Nigeria remain largely unregulated and that there is no unified certification registry covering the sector.
It says this creates room for people without adequate training or supervision to present themselves as specialists.
What is NIsBEC offering?
The institute says it will certify practitioners across behavioural science, special education, allied health and care.
Its published pathway includes three levels of certification in behavioural science, ranging from Certified Behaviour Technician to Certified Behaviour Specialist and Certified Behaviour Analyst.
It also has certification levels for special education and allied health.
For example, NIsBEC says candidates for its Certified Behaviour Analyst qualification must have a master's degree, complete 240 hours of ABA training and 1,500 hours of supervised fieldwork, undergo a criminal background check and pass an NIsBEC examination.
Successful candidates are placed on its registry and must renew their certification every two years.
Its Level 2 Certified Behaviour Specialist pathway requires a bachelor's degree, 180 hours of ABA training and 1,000 hours of supervised fieldwork.
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NIsBEC says practitioners at that level must work under the direction and close supervision of a Certified Behaviour Analyst.
These requirements could give families and employers more information when choosing practitioners.
But their value will ultimately depend on how widely the certification is recognised and how effectively the institute monitors practitioners after certification.
‘Our goal is to empower practitioners’Speaking at the launch, Dr Eziafakaku Nwokolo, a member of the NIsBEC Board of Directors and Trustees, said the institute wants to support professional development, research and policy.
“Our goal is to empower practitioners, influence policy, and create a platform for research and knowledge exchange that will transform behavioural science, special education and care in Nigeria”.
Mrs Daisy Jonathan, another member of the board, said professional standards should also extend to ethical conduct.
“NIsBEC currently provides certification pathways across four broad areas: behavioural science, special education, allied health and care categorized into paraprofessional, professional and advanced professional practice.
This certification system will also place strong emphasis on professional competence, integrity, respect, informed consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, collaboration and person-centred practice”.
NIsBEC says practitioners who complete its certification process will be entered into its publicly accessible certification Registry.Its website already provides an online directory of members and certified professionals.
Nigeria already has an inclusive education framework
The launch is taking place against the background of existing government policies on disability and inclusive education.
Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Education has a Special Needs Education and Services Branch responsible for coordinating special-needs education and inclusive education practices across the country.
Its mandate also covers policy development, monitoring and data collection relating to people with special educational needs.
The ministry's National Policy on Inclusive Education, published in 2023, calls for improved support for learners with disabilities and recognises the need for trained teachers and other personnel.
The policy includes measures such as continuous professional development for teachers and caregivers and the recruitment of specialist personnel including counsellors, audiologists, sign-language teachers, social workers, psychologists and physiotherapists.
The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) also has a statutory mandate under the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018.
The commission is responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and supporting their inclusion in education and other areas of social and economic life.
This means NIsBEC's next challenge may not simply be to issue certificates, but to establish how its professional standards and registry will work alongside existing government institutions and legally recognised professional bodies.
A problem identified by government policy
The need for stronger professional standards is not entirely new.Nigeria's special-needs policy has previously identified special education as an area where practitioners were not formally licensed to operate.
The Federal Ministry of Education's policy document described the sector as an open field and highlighted the need for stronger professional standards.
More recently, a National Commission for Persons with Disabilities document on inclusive education said practitioners and stakeholders had adopted unregulated and non-standardised practices in delivering inclusive education.
It also identified shortages in quality and access to inclusive education as continuing problems despite the existence of disability laws and policies.
That gives NIsBEC's intervention a clear policy context. B
ut it also raises a question: who will ultimately have the authority to determine which qualifications allow someone to practise, and which body will enforce that decision?
What happens to practitioners?
The new system could provide a clearer career pathway for professionals and paraprofessionals who work with people with developmental and learning difficulties.
NIsBEC's code of ethics requires members to work within their competence, protect clients' dignity and confidentiality, obtain appropriate consent and comply with applicable laws.
The code was adopted by its executive committee in September 2023.
Practitioners may also face additional training, examination and certification requirements if employers begin to make NIsBEC credentials a condition for employment.
For families, that could make it easier to check qualifications.
But certification alone cannot guarantee the quality of care.
Families will still need information about a practitioner's experience, supervision, disciplinary record, treatment methods and outcomes.
Not entirely a new organisation
Although Monday's event was presented as the formal flag-off of NIsBEC's operations, its activities predate the launch.
The institute's online membership directory contains members dating back to 2022, while its code of ethics was adopted in 2023.
The significance of Monday's event, therefore, appears to be the public launch and expansion of the institute's professional certification and registry system rather than the creation of an organisation that did not previously exist.
NIsBEC says it will now focus on research, advocacy, professional development and partnerships with schools, hospitals, universities and care organisations.
The effectiveness of the initiative will depend on whether those partnerships materialism, whether employers and families use the registry, and whether the institute can demonstrate transparent certification, complaints and disciplinary processes.
For parents and caregivers, the most important test will be simple: whether the new system makes it easier to find competent, accountable and appropriately supervised professionals.
