Streamlined data collection and management key to equitable special needs education
What you need to know:
- The Cabinet Secretary announced that the ministry will review the class size for students with disabilities or special needs in order to ensure that they learn under conducive environment.
- Dr Matiang’i also asked the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to conduct a head count of special needs education trained teachers with view to rationalising staff, ensuring appropriate deployment, training and retention.
- The CS said that the 2.5 million students in secondary schools benefit from Sh32 billion subsidized capitation grants, while the 4,100 learners with disability in secondary schools benefit from Sh200 million SNE capitation grants at Sh32, 600 among other operations costs.
Lack of adequate data is the major challenge to access and equity in the provision of quality special needs education programme, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has said.
Dr Matiang’i now wants all stakeholders in the education sector to work together and ensure all children with special needs are in school.
“To enhance equity and participation in special needs education for learners with disability, the Ministry needs to streamline data collection and management,” he said.
The Cabinet Secretary announced that the ministry will review the class size for students with disabilities or special needs in order to ensure that they learn under conducive environment.
He also directed Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) to assign codes to choices of special and integrated secondary schools during registration of national examinations.
In the 2015, Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination a total of 1,100 candidates with disabilities sat for the test as compared 1,090 in 2014.
Dr Matiang’i also asked the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to conduct a head count of special needs education trained teachers with view to rationalising staff, ensuring appropriate deployment, training and retention.
“The Ministry in collaboration with key stakeholders will establish a research fund for SNE and disability,” said the Cabinet Secretary in a speech read on his behalf by Principal Secretary for Vocational and Technical Training, Dinah Mwinzi during the national conference on inclusive education.
Dr Matiang’i added that the Ministry in collaboration with key stakeholders will advocate for mainstreaming of issues of persons with disability at all levels of education and training.
“It is notable that over 1.3 million pre-primary school children receive funding for the ECDE programme through the county governments,” said the Cabinet Secretary.
He added that at primary school, each of the over 10 million pupils receives Sh1,420 from the Sh14 billion Free Primary Education (FPE) capitation grants while 97,000 learners with disability benefit from the Sh440 million SNE capitation grants and Sh206 million for top up grants at Sh2,000 among other operational costs.
The CS said that the 2.5 million students in secondary schools benefit from Sh32 billion subsidized capitation grants, while the 4,100 learners with disability in secondary schools benefit from Sh200 million SNE capitation grants at Sh32, 600 among other operations costs.
“The government also allocates billions of shillings to subsidise education and training of students in Teachers Training Colleges, Technical Industrial, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TIVET) institutions and Universities,” said Dr Matiang’i
He disclosed that currently there are 55,000 trainees in Youth Polytechnics and over 421,152 in Universities.
The World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality (Salamanca Statement of 1994), the World Education Forum in Dakar (2000), Education For All Global Monitoring Report (2005), and the UN Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) altogether advocate for the rights of children with special needs.
