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{
    "id": 975004,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/975004/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 131,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13188,
        "legal_name": "Getrude Musuruve Inimah",
        "slug": "getrude-musuruve-inimah"
    },
    "content": "Sometimes, when you go to special needs schools, you will find that the teachers are not enough. Even the ratio of teacher to child is not enough. These are some of the issues that we have been trying to make a follow up on, in the Standing Committee on Education, where I am a Member. The TSC does not seem to effect anything on the ground. As I speak, there are some PWD teachers who are being retired at 60, yet there is a policy that teachers with disability should retire at 65. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you look at Article 53 of our Constitution, it speaks about the rights of children. One of the rights of children is education. It is not just education but free basic education. Even if education is free but there is no teacher, in the classroom, there is no way a child will learn. This is because teachers have a role to play in the lives of children; especially those with special needs. Children with Special needs without a teacher are directionless because they are initially disadvantaged. They come from homes where sometimes they are disadvantaged because sometimes their parents are not keen about children with special needs. They assume that a child with special needs is a child that belongs to the Government and the Government needs to do something. Therefore, there is need for this Committee to invite the TSC managers to come on board, so that we talk about this issue. I remember when we went to Senate Mashinani in Kitui last year, this issue also came up when we were at the Kitui School for the Deaf. We ventilated on the issue but one year down the line, the TSC has not done anything about it. When we look at the Special Needs Policy that the President launched, it clearly shows that there a dire need for the area of special needs to be addressed. However, when it comes to implementation, the Government and the TSC seems to be dragging their feet, yet it should not happen in a country that seeks to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Mr. Speaker, Sir, Goal 4 of the SDGs speaks about special needs education. When we talk about SDGs, there is need to ensure that we also help children with special needs, so that they are eventually meaningful in the society. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I support this Statement. For once, even if I sit in the Standing Committee on Education, where Sen. (Dr.) Langat is my Chairperson, we need to take this seriously, so that the TSC addresses it with all it deserves."
}