MPs want individualised syllabus, text books for special needs learners

National Assembly committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunities now wants a syllabus and text books tailored for learners with special needs.

Committee chairman Yusuf Haji said academic programmes in special schools across the country are disjointed due to lack of a clear syllabus and text books to guide both teachers and learners.

"Committee's fact finding visits to special schools has established that the Ministry of Education did not factor the institutions in preparations of syllabus and supply of text books suited for children with special needs," Haji said.

He said the committee will recommend that individualised learning plans tailored to each learner’s needs be the key consideration during development of a curriculum for students with disabilities.

This, he said, will foster a supportive and inclusive learning environment, provide accessible instructional materials and technologies among others.

Haji led the committee in a fact finding visit to the Malaba and Mukhonje special schools in Busia and Kakamega counties.

Another team of the committee conducted similar tours in Nyeri and Nakuru counties.

The committee is on a fact finding mission on the state of affairs in special schools where they came face to face with a myriad of challenges facing the institutions, frustrating efforts to ensure learners access quality education.

"The challenges we encountered ranges from deplorable state of infrastructure, lack of learning equipment and teaching guides, acute shortage of teachers and lack of food," Haji said.

"Some school administrators told the committee that learner were starving and they had to borrow food from well-wishers to feed them,” Haji said.

Kamkunji MP Yussuf Hassan said they will push the government to be sensitive to children with special needs seeking education.

"I am living with disability and so I have a better understanding of the needs of such people. Learners with special needs have a right to access quality education just like any other child," he added.

Kasipul MP Charles Were said the Education ministry should include promotion structures for teachers in special schools in the schemes of services to enable them climb the professional ladder.

"Teachers shy aware from special schools because there is no structured way of promoting them," he said.

Haji said the committee has developed a legislation that, if passed, will compel the government to pay caregivers of learners in special schools.

He said the committee established that such caregivers had to quit due to non-payment of their dues in some schools.

Shinyalu MP Fred Ikana said there is need for the government to double the capitation paid for each learner with special needs.

"Requirements for learners with special needs are many and therefore it is illogical for them to be allocated same amount of capitation with normal students," Ikana said.

The committee called on the government to put all learners in special schools on a medical cover.