{"id":821996,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/821996/?format=json","text_counter":209,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Likoni, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. (Ms.) Mishi Mboko","speaker":{"id":874,"legal_name":"Mishi Juma Khamisi","slug":"mishi-juma-khamisi"},"content":"needs. The global efforts to champion the needs of children living with disabilities were also emphasised at the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006. The Convention resolved that persons with disabilities should be guaranteed the right to inclusive education at all levels, regardless of age, without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity. In this regard, State parties should ensure that: 1. Children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education or from secondary education; 2. Persons with disabilities receive the necessary support within the general education system to facilitate their effective education; and, 3. Effective individualised support measures are put in place to maximise academic and social development. The Constitution of Kenya guarantees the right to education for every person under Article 43. More importantly, the Basic Education Act, 2012 and the Children Act of 2001 enacted by Parliament provide that every child shall be entitled to free and compulsory basic education. Furthermore, Sessional Paper No.1 of 2005 underscores the importance of special needs education as human capital development to empower the marginalised. Progress has been made in access to education globally. However, millions of children living with disability are still out of school. According to a study which was conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2011 in 51 countries, only 50.6 per cent of males living with disabilities had completed primary school. Compare that with 61.3 per cent of their counterparts without disability. On the other hand, only 41.7 of female students completed primary school while 52.9 per cent of those without disability did. Furthermore, the study found that even in the countries with high school enrolment rates such as those in Eastern Europe, many children with disability did not attend school at all. The education for all, global monitoring report, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) also estimates that 77 million children are not in school and more than one-third are disabled. For instance, about 100,000 children living with disabilities are not in school in our country. The percentage of pupils living with disabilities by 2007 was estimated at 10 per cent of the total population in Kenya. That is about 38.6million of our population. Approximately 25 per cent of these were children of school going age."}