How KICD is helping visually, hearing impaired students access education

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has rolled out several measures to enhance access and inclusion of learners with visual and hearing impairments in education.

The move seeks to ensure all students, regardless of their challenges, have equitable access to learning materials.

Elmad Songe Odero, assistant director of Special Needs Education at KICD, said Kenya has made progress in learning materials by producing specialized books tailored to this group of students.

“We have extensively tailored the curriculum to cater to all learners, including those with visual and hearing impairments. For visually impaired learners, we've developed Braille materials covering all subjects from grades 1 to 3," he said.

"Additionally, for students with hearing impairments, we've introduced a curriculum in Kenya Sign Language, complete with learning materials from grade 1 to 3.” 

He added that KICD has provided Mathematics, English and Swahili teachers' guides and learners' books that are specifically designed for both visually and hearing-impaired learners.

For visually impaired learners, the institute offers two categories.

One is for those with low vision whose books feature large font sizes to facilitate reading, and colour contrasts aid visibility.

For blind learners, the institute transcribes the books into braille.

The initiative has been implemented for learners from grade 4 to grade 7 and is ready to roll out for grade 8.

The books have already been adopted, awaiting production and distribution to schools.

“We have also adopted digital content for learners with hearing and visual impairment for grades one and two. In grade 3,  we had funding issues so it was not supported for production. For grade 4, we managed to go through the process, they are ready and learners are now accessing them,” he said.

Songe said that for grade 5, KICD has completed the scripting process, and the focus is now on integrating multimedia elements to enhance content accessibility.

For grade 6, he said that multimedia elements have been successfully incorporated, facilitating the upload and access of materials by learners.

He said the country has made progress in terms of personnel by developing a curriculum for diploma teachers interested in special needs education.

“Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) has trained many teachers.  They have also rolled out a long-distance learning course which has enabled us to have a critical mass of teachers who can support learners. Universities have also been training teachers.”

At the same time, he raised concerns about a gap in pre-primary education, where the county bears responsibility for infrastructure and administration.

He noted that some counties have inadequate specialized schools or institutions designated by the county as adequately equipped to accommodate these learners.

Songe regretted that some parents send their children to schools far away from home, depriving them of parental care, due to lack of specialized school.

“This implies that there's a necessity for action from county governments. If establishing a special school isn't feasible, then the nearby ECDE (Early Childhood Development Education) centres should prioritize inclusivity in their physical environment and materials," he said.

"We can assist them in obtaining these resources, as the curriculum is under the jurisdiction of the national government.”

He emphasized that every county must guarantee the presence of trained special needs teachers to provide support for these learners locally.

He also expressed his desire to have special needs schools included in the recently launched 2024 School Survey data collection exercise.

Songe said there is insufficient data concerning the number of special schools, the enrollment of learners in these institutions, and the availability of learning materials in each school.