Plea for adequate funds to fill gaps in Special Needs Education
By Irene.Githinji, May 30, 2022Significant strides have been made in Special Needs Education (SNE), but there are still wide funding gaps, a new report has shown.
A report by People’s Action for Learning (PAL) Network says having laws and policies without adequate funds cannot support the needs of people with disabilities.
Releasing the report at the weekend, PAL Network’s children, youth and disability expert Lydia Chege said disability funds should be earmarked in all government structures.
“Adequate funding should also be provided to monitor the policies on education, employment and social protection, as well as review them periodically,” said Chege.
She said there is inadequate learner capitation under the Free Primary and Free Day Secondary schemes.
The report says the Free Primary Education (FPE) policy guidelines stipulate a capitation at the rate of Sh1,420 per learner per year. This applies to all learners, with or without disabilities. The Ministry of Education has struggled to address this gap in funding for SNE learners through affirmative action grants that include FPE tuition top-up and boarding subsidy grants, says PAL.
But there is no stipulated allocation rate per learner for both grants. “The rate may fluctuate from year to year according to budgetary allocations and enrolment of SNE learners. Currently, the tuition top-up rate is Sh2,300 per SNE learner per year, while the boarding subsidy grants rate is about Sh12,000 per learner per year,” the report states.
On secondary education, the FSE policy provides a capitation of Sh22,244 per learner per year and an additional Sh35,730 per year for learners with special needs/disabilities for boarding and tuition subsidy.
The network also cited the widespread barriers that hinder education for PWDs. These include shortage of teachers for learners with disabilities, poorly trained special education officials, inadequate funding and lack of assistive devices and technologies.
Other challenges include unsuitable infrastructure like desks and chairs, negative attitude towards PWDs, parents keeping their disabled children at home for fear of violence and abuse, high failure rate among learners with disabilities and lack of coordination between stakeholders.
“There is a need to implement fully the Basic Education Curriculum Framework because it is designed to meet the unique needs of learners with special educational needs and disabilities. Learners who may not follow the regular curriculum would acquire living skills, and basic academic and work-related skills for independent living,” the report states.
The report says the Ministry has four institutions for learners with special needs. These are Machakos Technical Training Institute for the Blind, Karen TTI for the Deaf, Sikri TTI for the Deaf and Blind, and Nyang’oma TTI for the Deaf — which by 2020 had enrolled 2,500 learners.
It states that about 1 per cent of PWDs have formal employment. The 2016 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey 2015-2016 showed that 64 per cent of women with disabilities were employed in the informal sector.