Special Needs Children to Receive Comprehensive Medical Care Under Universal Health Care Program.
The Ministry of Education has taken steps to ensure that children with special needs and disabilities receive coverage in the Universal Health Care program, which President Dr William Ruto will launch on Friday during Mashujaa Day.
The Education Cabinet Secretary (CS), Ezekiel Machogu, stated that the Universal Health Care program will provide students with access to essential therapy and rehabilitation services, thereby reducing the severity of their special needs and disabilities.
Machogu stated on Thursday, during the 29th commencement ceremony of the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE), that this move will help motivate many out-of-school children with special needs and disabilities to enrol so that they can benefit from the program.
Today, the Institute is awarding 664 diplomas in special needs education and 207 certificates in various aspects of special needs. With this, the country now has a force of more than 30,000 solid professionals to serve in the areas of special needs and disabilities, stated the CS.
Parental influence on the growth, development, and education of children, according to Machogu, cannot be exaggerated.
He stated that the institute has initiated the process of establishing a Parental Empowerment Center. He assured them that the Ministry of Education would continue to provide the necessary support for the completion of the centre.
This, he noted, would significantly contribute to enhancing the capacity of parents to develop individualized education programs for learners with special needs and disabilities, as well as improving their life skills.
The Cabinet Secretary made it clear that the Diploma in Special Needs Education must be in line with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
He also told the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to get in touch with the right people to speed up the completion of this curriculum and the delayed Diploma in Sign Language Interpretation, which has been going on for over eight years.
Machogu stated that the government has maintained its commitment to the education of learners with special needs and disabilities. He emphasized that providing appropriate assistive devices, technologies, and specialized learning materials for these learners has been a priority.
The CS announced that the Ministry has decided to centralize the distribution of these devices through the Kenya Institute of Special Education.
He explained that the first batch of centralized distribution for assistive devices and specialized materials for learners with special needs and disabilities, valued at Sh87 million, will soon be flagged off. This initiative is set to benefit 101 schools, encompassing all the visually impaired and hearing-impaired schools.
In addition, the next batch of special institutions supporting physical disabilities and intellectual impairments will be sent out in one month.
The CS emphasized the existing gap in the repair and maintenance of assistive devices and technologies nationwide, underscoring the need to move away from the past practice of lacking a deliberate plan for servicing these crucial devices. This deficiency has previously resulted in unnecessary waste and loss.
Machogu stated that the Ministry has designated KISE to provide this essential service to special institutions, units, and inclusive programs nationwide. This will ensure that students with special needs and disabilities have access to these valuable devices for as long as feasible.
To increase local access to assistive technology and specialized learning materials and lessen reliance on imports, the government has given the institute 30 acres of land at Mavoko in Machakos County to establish a Major Production Unit.