Marigat Special School for the Visually Impaired in Baringo South subcounty is appealing for extra funds to construct a girls’ dormitory.
The school also requires classrooms, furniture and learning equipment for the pupils with special needs.
Head teacher John Kagiri said it was important to separate the physically challenged children in the school so they can receive special attention when learning.
“Currently the girls with special needs are sharing facilities including a dormitory, toilets and classrooms with their normal colleagues in the boarding section,” Kagiri said.
He spoke on Tuesday during the commissioning of an infrastructure project by the disabled agency board.
The National Fund for the Disabled of Kenya board of trustees’ vice-chairman Peter Nyakiamo commissioned a Sh2.4 million boys dormitory in the school.
“As an institution, we identified the challenges in the school and managed to put up the modern boys' dormitory,” Nyakiamo said.
Nyakiamo appealed to other stakeholders to mobilise funds to build other facilities in the institution.
He said NFDK is committed to improving the lives of people with disabilities in Kenya.
Kigiri lamented the high school-dropout rates of the physically challenged pupils in Baringo special schools, blaming it on poor facilities and failure by the parents to pay fees.
“Health issues have also forced the majority of the disabled children out of school,” he said.
But Kagiri said most of the disadvantaged children were performing as highly in class as their able colleagues.
Other special schools facing similar challenges in Baringo are Emining, Ochii, Kabarnet, Esageri special schools for the deaf and visually impaired.
Baringo education director Moses Karate said the situation was dire as most of the pupils lacked basic equipment like braille machines or Orbit devices and white canes.
Karate said some parents don’t care about their children but the ministry tries its best to retain them in school.
(edited by O. Owino)
