Abstract
In Nigeria, like other developing countries in Africa, there are strong efforts at evolving and executing sound educational policies and programmes for the youths and children alike. These policies and programmes are meant to cater for the needs of the entire populace in a bid to facilitate equal access to education.
However, despite all these grandiose plans as contained in such policies as the National Policy for Education, there is virtually no place for Special Music Education. In fact, all the institutions and centres for the handicapped located in various places in the country such as Gindiri-Jos, lbadan, Oyo and Enugu among others, none of them has music in their programmes or curricula. Also, among the tertiary institutions, only the College of Education (Special) Oyo, Oyo State has a Department of Music. Nevertheless, their music programme has no special place for the handicapped or gifted.
This situation is disheartening and as we enter into the new millennium, there is urgent need for the identification of the problem areas and proffer of solutions to change the status quo.
In this paper therefore, one would look into the National Education Policy in general, existing music curricula and other factors that affect the status quo. One will then be able to identify ways of bridging the existing gap considering the enormous roles Special Music Education can play in realising the dreams of equal access to education for all.
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