• Ministry spends Sh655 million annually on basic education for learners with special needs.
• Plans underway to offer refresher courses to tutors already in service.
Image: VICTOR IMBOTO
Funding for special needs education will be increased, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has said.
The sector is neglected and underfunded thus affecting the quality of education, Magoha said on Monday.
“All children are equal. Children with any form of disability should not be subjected to any discrimination,” the CS told the Pre-conference on Expanding Inclusion of Special Needs Education at Kenya Institute of Special Education.
He said emphasis will be put on the training of teachers to handle learners with special needs.
Those already in the service will be offered refresher courses.
Proper assessment and placement of children with special needs is the basis of inclusive education, the CS told the meeting.
“The ministry will work to ensure that all learning institutions are properly equipped and that all support facilities are made available to all learners to ensure no child is disadvantaged."
The Education ministry spends Sh655 million on basic education for learners with special needs annually.
It gives the regular capitation of Sh1,420 per learner under the Free Primary Education programme and tops it with Sh2,300, making a total of Sh3,700 per year.
In secondary schools, the government allocates Sh57,700 per learner in a boarding school per year, which is Sh35,460 more than what other students get.
There are 4,724 learners in special secondary schools. The commonest disabilities among learners are visual impairment (3.1 per cent), physical disability (3 per cent), intellectual disability (2.5 per cent), hearing impairment (1.2 per cent) and speech and language (0.9 per cent).
Bomet Central MP Ronald Tonui has proposed that the Education ministry should be compelled to build and maintain 47 boarding schools for learners with special needs.
The proposal seeks to enhance support for special needs children and, if passed, will amend the Basic Education Act of 2013.
It is yet to be tabled in Parliament but has the support of the Education Committee.
Edited by R.Wamochie