By Obegi Malack
Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) Deputy Academic Registrar Johannah Mweu has commended the President for commissioning the Working Party to evaluate the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) but noted that many crucial issues about special need students were missing in the Curriculum.
Speaking during a press briefing in Nairobi ahead of the upcoming fourth conference on Parental Empowerment and Engagement in Nurturing Potential of Children Living with Disability, the registrar said that they were preparing a report and invited shareholders to contribute to it.
“This is a great opportunity for us so that we can put our case forward, we are working on it seriously, anyone who has anything on special need share with us,” he said.
Mweu pointed out that some of the issues missing in the CBC is a lack of clear way of assessment of children with special needs and there is also the issue of their transition.
“With a regular child there is a very simple way of transiting, you get a certificate in certain level and go to another level, but for one with disability it’s about competency, their ability, what they can do,” he said.
The registrar said that in some situations, children with disabilities stay in a school for a very long time although they have skills.
He suggested that the children who are best in certain skills should be assesses using them.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had earlier said that the national government had no plans of doing away with CBC but the appointed taskforce will only give recommendation on what needs to be reviewed for the curriculum to be favorable for all.
It will do a summative evaluation of the new education system, assess and recommend an appropriate structure to implement it.
KISE director Dr Norman Kiogora said children with special needs are blessings and need to be appreciated.
The institution is targeting to empower parents with special needs children in the upcoming conference.
KISE Research Coordinator Dr. Lynette Ongera said that in survey by KISE in 2017, 11% of school going children live with disability.
The institution has come up with a free programme titled Disability Entrepreneurship for Persons living with Disabilities (PWDs) to curb the rise of cases where parents use their children with special needs as beggars in towns which is against their rights.
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