Nakuru-based businessman and philanthropist Maina Wakabura has raised concerns on what he terms is non-inclusive environment in various schools.
Wakabura notes that the current education infrastructure should be re-looked at as they are not friendly to children with disability.
“The design of our current Education Infrastructure is an obvious challenge not only to Children with Disability but also to their parents, fellow pupils, and teachers,” he stated.
According to him, lack of assistive devices in schools, assessment methods that may not reflect the true abilities of the pupils, lack of awareness and understanding among staff and students about forms and nature of disabilities has led to discrimination, and Mental Health challenges.
These, he says are brought by the non-inclusive school environment, the well-being of the Pupil is negatively affected.
He adds that time is for concerted efforts in addressing the same.
The philanthropist says schools should be properly equipped to facilitate the education journey of pupils who are abled differently by having support services such as therapists and counselors readily available in the Institutions.
“Teachers also require more training and professional development to cater to the needs of the pupils in schools,” he said.
He advised the Government to solve all these by fully implementing the policies and programs catering to special needs students.
