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{
    "id": 836094,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/836094/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 388,
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    "content": "the education of persons, and in particular children, who are blind, deaf or deaf-blind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social development; ACKNOWLEDGING that hearing impaired learners have linguistic challenges and perform dismally in academics, since all subjects other than Kiswahili and foreign languages are taught and examined in English; COGNIZANT that hearing impaired learners who are educable can master the essentials of English language as they are able to sign sing the National Anthem in Signing Exact English (SEE); NOW THEREFORE, the Senate calls upon the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to- 1. Ensure that Signing Exact English (SEE) is used as a mode of instruction for persons with hearing impairment who are educable; 2. Develop SEE instructional materials for learners with hearing impairment; 3. Work with linguists and researchers to develop sign language resources; and, 4. Ensure that sign language linguistics is offered as a discipline in universities and teacher training colleges. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the issue of language acquisition should not be taken for granted. I want to make it very clear that I am talking about the deaf who are educable. When it comes to the deaf, they range in a continuum. We have children with that disability who are educable. They can go through the normal system, just like anybody else and even go vertically up to colleges, universities and so on. They can be self-employed and even have white collar jobs like anybody else. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we also have children with disabilities who are not educable. They can be given life skills to get by. I am looking at that child who can compete like any normal child, achieve parity and contribute to the development of this country. Deaf children are highly disadvantaged because they have a language problem. They cannot hear. Many linguists, including Noam Chomsky says, every normal human being has the ability to learn a language. Naturally, people acquire languages. As people interact with you, you acquire the mother tongue. However, as you acquire it, you will make mistakes here and there. This is the normal way of learning a language. When a deaf child joins school, he has a mother tongue that he acquired while at home. That language must be nurtured. Strong language skills are an asset that promotes effective lifetime communication. The deaf are highly disadvantaged when it comes to the acquisition of the English language. It is only in the classroom environment that children can acquire correct usage of English. It happens at an early stage where you will find that in most schools, teachers come up with modalities that ensure children are learning language. Some schools even require speaking English four times a week and Kiswahili once a week. This is because The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}