To cater for students with special needs, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, has said that the university will integrate sign language into its academic system.

Ambali made the pledge yesterday when the workers and students of the Centre for Supportive Services for the Deaf (CSSD) paid him a courtesy visit to mark the International Day for the Disabled, which is celebrated every December 3.

The vice chancellor, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Prof. Yisa Fakunle, congratulated the Centre on the progress recorded so far, adding that the university was very happy to note that the Centre was living up to its mandate.

He said: "I heard that we are trying to introduce other languages in our educational curriculum. So, if we are going to imbibe that, there is no reason why we cannot learn this too. To me these languages are much more complicated than this sign language. So, I am going to make it a point to find a way of introducing this sign language into our system.

"We will work on it and I think we should be able to do this before learning any other language. I am not against any other language. To me, it is very important. This cuts across everybody because it is an international language. It cuts across all regions and I think it should be popularised," the vice chancellor said.

The President of the Nigerian Universities Deaf Students Association, University of Ilorin Chapter, Mr. Sejoro Ekundayo Peter, who prayed for a successful tenure for the new vice chancellor Ambali, thanked the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, for fulfilling the promises he made to the Centre and its students.