Problems Facing Special Needs Education in Kenya
Schools ill-equipped to support children with special needs: Report
The new report launched by Amina Mohamed, Education Cabinet Secretary launched the report on March 22, 2018 shows students with special needs have to make do with ill-equipped schools and teachers.
By Daily Nation
Writer: JAMES KAHONGEH
The system in Kenya is still ill-equipped to support learners with disabilities and special needs, a joint report by the Kenya Institute of Special Education (Kise) and the Ministry of Education has revealed.
The National Survey on Children with Disabilities and Special Needs in Education, conducted between 2016 and 2017, shows that 11 per cent of all learners in Kenya have one or another form of disability.
DISABILITIES
The most common disabilities among learners include visual impairment (3.1 per cent), physical disability (3 per cent), intellectual disability (2.5 per cent), hearing impairment (1.2 per cent), speech and language (0.9 per cent), deafblind (0.2 per cent).
While a significant number of these children are enrolled in schools, the rate of school dropout remains high due to lack of support services in most learning institutions.
The report points out at glaring inadequacies in teachers trained to handle special needs education in assessment centres and schools in Kenya.
The majority of head teachers in primary integrated schools and special units (78.28 per cent) do not have any training in special needs education, for instance. Only 2.24 per cent of these have a Master’s degree in special needs education (SNE).
According to the report, the country lacks a policy framework to guide the implementation of inclusive education, while capitation for children with disabilities is not disaggregated according to type and severity of disabilities.
COUNTIES
Additionally, the curriculum used in schools does not meet needs of children with disabilities and special needs in education.
