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The National Assembly Committee on Education has called for an urgent policy direction for Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) to boost its mandate.

Committee chairman Julius Melly made the remarks, even as he called for enhanced financing of Special Needs Education (SNE), saying it should be higher than that of regular learners.

Noting that KISE currently runs on a legal notice, Melly challenged KISE leadership to urgently spearhead development of a draft law and present it to the committee for further direction.

“We need to have a very clear policy and organizational programmes from the KISE head office down to the village so that when we talk about issues of psychosocial needs, we understand how to relate with counties and who is in charge of the manpower,” said Melly.

He made the remarks at KISE yesterday when the education committee toured the facility.

Melly said the new law will strengthen special needs education and ensure that learners across the country are supported as per the Disability Act of the National Assembly.

“The legal framework is urgent. KISE council and its leadership should lead in developing a draft and bring it to the committee and we push it to the National Assembly so that we can have KISE Act of Parliament and it will revolutionalize the institution, it is important that this is done,” he said.

He said the draft to be presented to the education committee will give a better understanding on critical areas like cost of capitation or unit cost for each learner.

It is also expected to give the actual population of special education children across the country as captured in National Education and Management Information System (NEMIS).

“That way it will be easier to work with figures than can be convincing and when we ask the Ministry to give us these figures we understand the real situation for better financing,” he explained.