Special needs schools seek more funds, teachers

Special Schools Heads Association of Kenya (SSHAK) has put doubts on the Education assessment resource centres at the Ministry of Education which are tasked with identification of learners and placing them in schools. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A total of 105 blind candidates sat for the examination, low vision candidates were 552, physically/mentally challenged were 726 and those with hearing impairments were 73.
  • Special Schools Heads Association of Kenya Chairman Arthur Injenga said taxation of special needs education materials and lack of capacity among teachers had made it hard for many students to access education.

Special needs schools want the government to allocate them more resources and teachers.

A total of 2,118 special needs candidates sat for the 2015 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination compared to 2,097 in 2014.

In the results, released on Wednesday by Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, a total of 105 blind candidates sat for the examination, low vision candidates were 552, physically/mentally challenged were 726 and those with hearing impairments were 73.

Bungoma County had the highest number of candidates with special needs at 129, Kiambu had 110 while Homa Bay had 100 candidates.

Special Schools Heads Association of Kenya Chairman Arthur Injenga said taxation of special needs education materials and lack of capacity among teachers had made it hard for many students to access education.

“We need concerted efforts to have more candidates with special needs to sit for the national examination,” said Mr Injenga.

He called on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to set aside a number of slots for teachers who have specialized in special needs to address the shortage.

“TSC should be able to specify that this is the number of teachers with special needs that we require while doing the recruitment instead of lumping them all together,” said Mr Injenga.

He added that the government must address the issuing of taxing materials used in special schools.

The 25 secondary special needs schools have a capacity of 996.

In his speech Dr Matiang’i noted: “There continues to be a steady increase in the number of learners with special needs attaining full primary education and sitting for the KCPE exams.”

The schools have been hit by delays in disbursement of funds from the government in the past therefore paralysing activities in the institutions.