NFDK to advocate for more inclusion of learners with special needs

The National Fund for the Disabled of Kenya (NFDK) will work with communities, partners, and the Ministry of Education in advocating for more inclusion of learners living with special needs through infrastructural development funding.

This is even as the country grapples with the ever-changing environment in the education sector.

Speaking at Olwa Neema Special school in Nyakach, Prof Julia Ojiambo, who serves on the board of trustees of NFDK, said their emphasis as NFDK is on inclusion and ensuring that learners with disability have institutions where they feel comfortable and protected.

Prof Ojiambo said that NFDK has ensured that learners with special needs are catered for in the new curriculum.

She said they have done this by supporting through proper infrastructure, giving small grants to assist the institutions of learners with special needs to ensure that learners with disability get quality education.

According to Prof Ojiambo, NFDK’s mandate is to advocate for the special needs children to be catered for in education and through the curriculum and provision of teachers so that they have access to supervision and proper learning.

“In curriculum development, the department is doing a lot by producing teachers who are able to manage the curriculum with learners who have special needs,” she noted.

She said they have done more than 300 such projects in different schools all over the country to ensure learners with disability are properly catered for and given access to inclusive education.

At Olwa Neema special school, NFDK, in partnership with KenGen, constructed a boarding facility and equipped it at a cost of Sh 3.6 million.

William Rahedi, who serves on the KenGen board as a director, said that such facilities in institutions enhance learning, increase enrollment and retention of learners, as it help them enjoy their environment.