‘CS Amina brought to tears’ as blind student narrates the challenges special needs students face.

If not for the brave class eight student, the event presided over by Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed would have continued like no other and Amina would probably not have caught their grievances first hand.

Amina had intended to dispatch some 21,987 early grade mathematics learners’ books and teachers’ guides for special needs learners.The books are part of the Government’s plan to implement the new competency based curriculum being rolled out to cover early years education.

Things however moved from happy faces to misty eyeballs and stoic silence when June, a Standard Eight visually impaired student at Milimani Primary School, picked the microphone.

“As children with vision impairment we undergo many challenges,” said June.She added: “We must always have a desk mate to help us even read a book and this is very sad because it means they first help us to read after that they can now read for themselves.”

It was then that Amina, Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang and Senate Education Committee chairperson Chris Langat, turned their heads, almost simultaneously, towards the direction of the pupil.

“Even during examinations in a class of six, we may only have one person to assist us and we always fail to complete examinations in time and this really annoys me,” June said.

“We should find out what is wrong with examinations. To ensure all children get equal opportunity.”

The small tent in little known MFI Document Solutions office along Mombasa Road, where the meeting was taking place, went silent . June had raised a serious point impossible to ignore.

The distribution of books across the country is a patnership between the Ministry and MFI .

Amina admitted to having been moved by June’s story when she stood up to speak. She invited June and her teacher to explain the issues to her in detail so they can address them urgently. “This is really touching,” said Amina.

Kipsang asked Kenya National Examination Council to establish why administering exams to special needs learners is a problem. In last year’s KCPE, 2,495 special needs candidates sat the exams with the best scoring 446 marks.

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