Inside government's plan to restore hope for learners with special needs

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba. [File, Standard]

For years, the doors of many Education Assessment Resource Centres (EARCs) across Kenya have remained closed, leaving thousands of children with disabilities and their families to navigate the education system with little guidance.

At Tom Mboya School for Children with Cerebral Palsy in Tononoka, Mombasa County, the reality is stark. What was once meant to be a vital assessment facility now stands vandalised, with equipment, doors and windows destroyed.

For families seeking help, the abandoned centres represent more than deteriorating buildings—they symbolise a system that has struggled to identify children’s needs early enough and place them in environments where they can thrive.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, during a fact-finding tour of the Coast, acknowledged the problem and announced plans to revive the centres, beginning with 10 regional facilities.

“Now, there is a challenge in the sense that those assessment centres are now being hosted, some in our schools, such as the one we are in. And that is not adequate,” Ogamba said.

Kenya previously had 46 EARCs at the district level and 10 at the regional headquarters. These centres provided a crucial link between families and the education system.

Children were assessed by education and Teachers Service Commission officers before being placed in special schools, integrated units, or mainstream institutions according to their individual needs.

With many of the centres falling into disrepair from 2019 and through the COVID-19 period, that vital service has been disrupted.

For a parent raising a child with cerebral palsy, autism, a hearing impairment, a visual impairment, or another disability, obtaining the right assessment can be the difference between a child receiving appropriate support and being left behind.

Without assessment, a learner may be placed in an unsuitable classroom, denied assistive technology, or struggle with a curriculum that does not respond to their abilities.

The challenge is even greater for families in rural and marginalised communities, where transport costs, poverty, limited information and a shortage of specialists can make accessing assessment services difficult.

Some children remain at home because their parents do not know where to seek help. Others enter school late or drop out altogether.

The Ministry of Education has also expressed concern about children whose disabilities or learning difficulties are misunderstood.

KISE Director Dr Norman Kiogora noted that some children with emotional and learning difficulties are simply labelled as naughty by teachers; misconceptions can have lifelong consequences.

“Training institutions for teachers should teach special needs education programs which will enable them to handle students with more understanding and empathy,” Kiogora advised.

Reviving EARCs, therefore, is about rebuilding an essential support system around the learner.

Ogamba said the government has allocated about Sh130 million to begin rehabilitating the first 10 regional centres, while partners are expected to help support the restoration of all 56 facilities. The exercise is also expected to provide reliable data on the number of learners with special needs and the nature of their disabilities.

Such information will enable the government to determine where teachers, specialised equipment and other resources are most urgently required.

Ogamba says learners with special needs require far greater individual attention than learners in ordinary classrooms.

“Students or learning institutions with special needs require a teacher ratio of 1 to 4, as opposed to what we normally know in normal circumstances; the ratio is 1 to 29. Disability is not inability, but a lack of access to the right tools can convert potential into frustration,” he said.

In the latest phase of its assistive technology programme, the Ministry, through the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE), is distributing 11,139 assistive devices to 321 inclusive programmes and special schools across all 47 counties, and the programme is also reaching senior schools and tertiary institutions.

Ogamba also directed KISE to work with institutions to achieve a one-to-one learner-to-device ratio.

“Every learner who requires assistive technology should have access to it so that they can participate fully and succeed in their education,” Ogamba said.

The government’s commitment also includes supporting local production of assistive devices. KISE Director Dr Norman Kiogora said all 11,139 devices in the latest phase were manufactured locally at KISE facilities.

The institute is also planning a national special needs assessment to determine individual requirements.

“Kenya needs functional assessment centres, adequately trained teachers, classroom assistants, accessible schools, reliable data and sustained funding. Parents also need information and encouragement to bring children forward for assessment,’ he said.

Early Learning and Basic Education and University Education and Research Chief Administrative Secretary Mumina Bonaya has urged parents to present children with disabilities to EARCs so that their needs can be assessed and appropriate placement determined.

“The CBC has provided for diversity in endowments, and it seeks to develop the varied potential of every child,” Bonaya said.

She raised concern that some parents hide children with disabilities, denying them opportunities to develop their abilities and talents.