Kenya: disability is not inability

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Caring for learners with special needs

By Education team

This phrase Disability is not inability has become a headline-writers
cliche whenever a story about those who have endured handicaps to make it
in life is written. In any society, disability provokes passion. The kind
which makes people upset whenever it emerges that certain individuals are
hindered to pursue their desired goals in life because of being
handicapped. But Disability is not inability derives its impetus from the
tenacity to build a utilitarian society. A society in which everything is
done for the benefit of all.

Yet in the present, time, it emerges that Disability is not inability
becomes even more relevant when structures are put into place to propel
the intellectual capacities of the handicapped onto greater heights. In
2006 for instance, the number of candidates with disabilities and special
needs who sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE)  exam rose
to 870 from 493 in 2005, representing an increment of 76.5 per cent. They
included 231 candidates with low vision, 105 mentally challenged, 88
physically handicapped, 381 with impaired hearing while 65 were blind
candidates. What is the significance of this increase? Is it to imply that
the country is opening up to persons with disabilities? And if so what
does the future hold for education for people with disabilities?

A survey by the Education Times now shows that education for persons with
special needs continues to be an area of major concern for education
policy makers. But with close to 125 special schools countrywide, the
Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) says the provision of special
needs education is still faced with a myriad of challenges. These schools
include 10 for the visually impaired, 46 for the mentally challenged, 43
for those with physical disabilities while 26 for those with hearing
problems and the biggest challenge has been to equip them with staff and
proper learning facilities.

DRAFT POLICY

According to a United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) bulletin, Education For All, education for persons with special
needs in Kenya suffers from "Inadequate funding, lack of a clear policy
framework low progress in assisting children with disabilities, few
qualified teachers to handle children with special needs lack of teaching
and learning resources among others." But the Government has published a
draft policy on Early Childhood Education with clauses that enhance the
development of persons with disabilities from nursery. The draft 'National
Early Childhood Development Policy' unveiled by the Ministry of Education
in January, 2007 now proposes that all children learning centres be
equipped with facilities for those with special needs.

The draft ECD Policy framework proposes that the children with special
needs access rehabilitation services like counselling, physiotherapy and
sign language at their learning centres. It provides that classrooms for
these children be fitted with ramps, rails and lower door handles for
accessibility, as well as special sanitary facilities for them. Various
service providers will be allowed to invest in ECD to ensure children with
special needs maximise their potential and develop their talents to
contribute to nation building. Once adopted the Government through the
Ministry of Health will strengthen programmes for early detection of
disabilities of infants and young children.

It proposes that the Government employs ECD teachers directly, and for
this reason, the Directorate of Personnel Management shall ensure that
persons with special needs who have relevant qualifications are given
first priority while hiring staff in these institutions as they will act
as role models for the children. It also proposes a teacher child ratio of
1:1 for ECD pupils with autism, those that are deaf, blind, and suffering
from cerebral palsy, severely/ multiple disabilities. The teacher/ pupil
ratio will be 1:15 for the visually impaired and physically handicapped,
1:10 for those with mild mental disability and 1:12 for those with hearing
impairment. The draft proposes that lunch (a balanced diet and a snack
preferably porridge at break time) be provided to learners). The staff in
ECD centres will establish and maintain relationships with families,
service providers, policy makers and Community Based Organisations (CBOs)
to meet the needs of children with special needs.

The Director of Kenya Institute of Education (KIE), Director of Kenya
Institute of Special Education (KISE), Director Quality Assurance and
Standards at the Ministry of Education and the Director of Medical
Services (DMS) will ensure that screening tools for early identification
of children with disabilities are developed and distributed for use. The
draft Policy proposes that the Ministry of Finance shall provide funds to
the Ministry of Education for provision of Information Communication
Technology (ICT) to institutions dealing with special needs education. The
Government, through the Director of Technical Education (DTE) will support
parents, communities and civil society to ensure production of affordable
help devices and avail them to learners with special needs throughout the
country.

Training

In school, candidates with special needs sit the same examinations with
those who are normal. And KISE the Deputy Director Mr Benedict Kilei says
this as unfair since they face a lot of challenges in doing the exams.
Candidates with special needs are usually given an extra 30 minutes on top
of the normal time, although this may be adjusted according to the nature
of ones disability. You can imagine a case where a pupil does not have
upper limbs." Kilei now says this as a challenge for KISE to train
teachers who are able to handle Special Needs Education at regular schools
in the country.

He says enrolment of pupils with special needs increased with the
introduction of free primary education in 2003, but they were not met with
qualified teaching staff and instructors. "In some countries, other people
are called in to write the exams for them by dictating to them what they
want written. But this is not the case with Kenya where such a candidate
must struggle to write the exams by themselves. "This has led KISE to
introduce new programmes to meet the rising demand, we intend to train
more special education teachers through our new Distance Learning module,
he says. In addition, he says KISE will introduce diploma courses in Deaf/
Blind and Autism cases, other courses we intend to introduce are the
Talented and Gifted course where teachers get trained to handle children
who do not have formal homes. Some of these courses will kick off in
September, this year.

A council appointed by the Ministry of Education, Kenyatta, Maseno and
Kenya Methodist universities is to work out modalities that will see KISE
begin to offer degree courses in special education. Kilei says costly
equipment needed in administering special education have also stood in
their way. For instance, one Braille, which every visually impaired
student must have his own, costs up to Sh50,000. KISE manufactures white
cane sticks used by blind to move around then sell them at highly
subsidised rates. Last year, the institution purchased a special bus for
the physically disabled. The bus is fitted with a lift that enables the
physically handicapped to get onto the bus. And the Sh8 million vehicle
will be used in transporting disabled students to official functions.

KISE was established in 1986 and conducts training of teachers and other
personnel in the field of Special Needs Education (SNE). It also conducts
in-service courses for those working in all fields of SNE. Besides, it
functions as a national resource and research centre for SNE. KISE, Kilei
says is also involved in awareness campaigns to enlighten the public on
opportunities available to learners with special needs. Among these
programmes is the establishment of Education Assessment and Resource
Centres (EARC) in every district in the country to decentralise its
services. "EARCs are manned by officers trained in SNE. Parents are
advised to take their children with special needs to these centres first
before they are admitted to schools.

Officers at the centres asses the nature of the disability and advise
parents on which school to send their children. In addition to these
functions, KISE operates low vision and celebral palsy clinics. Services
are provided by medical personnel from Kenyatta National Hospital. Kilei
is now calling on Education Minister Prof George Saitoti to expedite the
process of tabling the proposed Special Needs Education Bill. Its absence
has deepened the misery of those with special cases in Kenya. This policy
could never have come at a better time because many pupils have been
locked out of the education system due to its absence. The law will now
compel head teachers to admit students with special needs without
discrimination.

If it becomes law, then the policy together with the Childrens Act and the
People with Disability Act will effectively guide these groups, he adds.
At higher echelons, Special Needs Education has gained methodological
refinement to become an area of specialised academic study. Kenyatta
University admits disabled students (visually impaired, physically
handicapped, and mentally handicapped) to pursue various degree courses.
The University has a well spelt-out policy that advocates for equal rights
as other students and encourages the use of Audio and visual aids in
teaching.

Currently, KU has a total of 45 students with disabilities pursuing
various courses in its various campuses. 38 of them are blind. Established
as a full-fledged university in 1985, KU, Kenyas second oldest university
soon cut a niche for itself as a leading Education training centre and
went ahead to start offering Special Education under the School of
Education and Human Resource Development (SEHRD) in 1995. The university
has put in place various facilities and structures to make life normal for
the special students who attend the same classes with normal students. The
department of special education has a resource room for the special
students equipped with special computers that fitted with voice software.
This enables learners to take practical computer training and practical
computer examinations.

The centre also runs a programme where employed workers and volunteer
students take time off to dictate notes and loudly read text to the
visually impaired students. The department offers Education courses for
both special and normal students. The four year course in divided into 52
units and a teaching practice session lasting a whole term (normally three
months). The course is divided into 16 units of Education courses, 16
units of Special Education and 16 others are studied in the second
teaching subject. Five compulsory common education Units are also studied
under this course. Of the 16 Special Education subjects, 6 are electives
and based on the special needs of the child while the remaining 10 are
taken by all students in the Special Education Department.

Martine Okumu a graduate from the university with a Bachelor of Education
in Literature and Special Education degree says the institution has done
its best to cater for all kinds of learners. Okumu attended St. Odda
School for the blind in Aluor, Kisumu District for his primary and
secondary education before joining KU for a Bachelor of Education degree
(Literature and Special Education). The university has braille machines
and embossers which convert hard copy in normal print into Braille that
can be accessed and used by special students. At the universitys Moi
library, special preference is given to students with disabilities in the
process of accessing reference materials. There are workers who aid
learners to borrow books. Other facilities include lifts reserved for
disabled students and audio visual versions of the relevant books in stock
at the University library.

In the residential hostels, special learners have rooms with adapted
toilets and bathrooms to enhance their sanitation needs. To ease movement
of disabled students, the university has made transport arrangements for
visually and physically impaired students around campus in tricycles (tuk
tuks). Mobility of visually impaired students is also aided by concrete
embankments and bumps along campus roads and pavements. The bumps reduce
the speed of moving vehicles and act as landmarks for the students can
identify their locations and move around short distances with minimal
guidance. In lecture theatres and halls, there are slopping ramps to aid
mobility of students on wheelchairs who are usually have the front space
reserved for them during lessons.

Learners with hearing impairment also benefit from the public address
system installed in the lecture halls. The university has employed
sign-language instructors who accompany Visually Impaired students to
interpret lectures into sign language. I think KU has one of the best
training facilities for persons with special needs in the country. I have
had a smooth time at KU although with a few challenges. It is a pity that
Kenya only has one special school for the visually impaired, the Thika
School for the Blind," says Okumu. Society should learn to accept us for
who we are and treat us with equal opportunities," he adds. "At KU, the
Department of Special Education is one among the seven departments of the
school of Education and Human Resource Development."

Dr Geoffrey Kamau Karugu the chairman of the Department of Special
Education says the department has been in place for the last 11 years and
has continued training both the students with disabilities and normal
students in the handling of special students. Most of the graduates from
the department end up to work at the Kenya Institute of Special Education
as tutors, others join the Ministry of Education Inspectorate, Kenya
Institute of Education as curriculum planners, Teacher Training colleges,
while others become primary and secondary schools teachers countrywide.
"They are trained to fit in all areas," says Dr Karugu. The department now
offers post graduate training in Special Education. The two - year Masters
degree enrols approximately 35 students annually. The masters programmes
equips the students with research skills in SNE. The department is
currently working towards establishing an assessment centre for children
with special needs.

But on the larger scope, challenges still abound. Many social places and
Government facilities still lack facilities to cater for persons with
disabilities. The future of those with special needs now lies in the
implementation of all policies geared towards making them feel comfortable
as part of society. The vision and mission of the Ministry of Education
provides a clear measure for value addition to all citizens in this
country. "To promote and coordinate lifelong education, training and
research for Kenya's sustainable development. To focus on priority areas
with overall education goals to achieve Education for all by 2006." With
this clear vision, then education in Kenya shall become a home for
everyone, ones needs notwithstanding. Perhaps this why the headline writer
always thinks, and rightly so, that 'Disability is not inability' .

http://www.timesnews.co.ke/12feb07/schtimes/sch2.html

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