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{
    "id": 1166315,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1166315/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 113,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof) Kamar",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 33,
        "legal_name": "Margaret Jepkoech Kamar",
        "slug": "margaret-kamar"
    },
    "content": "the special children and discovered the if the special children are not taken to school, the mothers have no other jobs except to take care of them. Madam Temporary Speaker, when we say every child has a right to education, it is not the child to conform to the institution, but it is the institution to conform to the child. Every child who has attained the age of going to school should be in school at the same time. We discovered that most of the special children start school late. We learnt that some of the special children begin school when they are already 14 years because parents have been left to spend their time training them how to cope with the other children. If truly our Constitution says that every child has a right to education, it is important for the schools to conform to the children who go to school and take care of them because it is their right. Madam Temporary Speaker, you are a mother. You know that we do not choose the children that we deliver. It is God who gives you the child. Whatever child comes forth from our mother in this country should be taken care of by the country. For example, we said Kenyan children must learn Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) in school. When we had public participation for one of our Bills, a parent told us that that is clear discrimination in our schools. She said that if you teach a special child a language so that they can communicate with only you and their teachers, how do they communicate with the other children? It is time this country thought of how we can enable school going children to communicate with their fellow children. In fact, Madam Temporary Speaker, in the case of the schools for the deaf, this mother of a deaf child came out very strongly that the language of the deaf is Sign Language, while that of the blind is the Braille. She then paused a very big question; why can the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) not teach our children all these languages up to class four? The reason here is to allow interaction between our children whether a child is disabled or enabled because all of us are abled differently. I think these are some of the bold steps that we need to go beyond as we look at this Bill. As CBC comes out, it is very important that they start addressing how these children can enjoy their education. For you to enjoy wholesome education, no education that should shut out play time. These kids must interact with the other children during play time and not be isolated. I know the Ministry of Education has been talking about interactive sessions for these children. In fact, I went to one of the schools for the deaf and discovered that children from a neighbouring school had visited the School for the deaf, as one of their CBC activities. When they reached the School for the deaf, they found a different KSL. For example, the deaf children had their own signs for “come” and “go”, different from what these other kids had been trained. Some clapped while others put up their hands because that is how they have been trained. It is very important that when we talk of special needs education, we need to broaden it beyond the child that is being trained. This will enable other children to actually interact with them. That is why I strongly believe that the Ministry should start addressing how to make the special needs education more interactive and not isolative. It is not to isolate our children into various dockets for their own sake. Yes, we use the Braille to train blind children so that they can go to university and become The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}