Disability is not Inability

:: The Blind to benefit from education plan
By Nation Correspondent Daily Nation 12th May 2005

An Initiative that will force governments to provide education to visually impaired children has been launched.

The education for All Children with Visual Impairments in Africa programme is in line with wider goal of ensuring education for all by 2015. Education Permanent Secretary Karega Mutahi launched the African Initiative on Tuesday night at a Forum attended by representatives of blind and visually impaired people from 40 Countries worldwide.

In a speech read by PS Education Minister George Saitoti asserted that children with disabilities deserved education to help them lead meaningful lives.

The minister said "the government would ensure that the right to education for persons with disabilities was included in all national educational plans. The move would also ensure equal distribution of resources to all learners".

Children with disabilities

“Education and training opportunities help to fill in the gaps in economic and social development that marginalize them” He said.

The Government, he added, was developing a policy on special needs education. He said the policy would guide the inclusion of educational services for children with disabilities in national development plans.

“Many people with special needs have already been socially excluded through denial of education. This needs to be addressed urgently by all concerned,” The Minister said.

He cited the lack of clear guidelines and support for an education policy and lack of data on children with special needs as some of the challenges facing them. Others are inadequate tools and skills for their identification and assessment.

“This means that special education has not been absorbed in all education sub-sectors and programmes as effectively as it should be.”

Many teachers have not been trained to handle children with special needs and the children are rarely placed in appropriate learning institutions.

Their teaching and learning materials are also expensive and inadequate.

Daily Nation

disabilitykenya

:: THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED HOLD AN INTERNATIONAL INCLUSION CONFERENCE IN NAIROBI