Education stakeholders demand Braille support for visually impaired Islamic Religious learners
Several other participants highlighted the lack of Braille facilities, the shortage of teachers, inadequate infrastructure such as sufficient classrooms, and inadequate training for teachers in private schools as major challenges in implementing CBC.
Education stakeholders in Garissa want the government to provide Braille facilities to visually impaired students learning Islamic Religious Education (IRE) under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Speaking during a county-based dialogue on education aimed at improving CBC, they said that, unlike other subjects, visually impaired children learning the IRE subject were disadvantaged.
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Abdirizack Hussein, the Garissa County branch secretary of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), called on the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to ensure Braille facilities were available for blind students in IRE classes nationwide, noting that they were underserved.
"As you have fully provided for other subjects, the visually impaired students learning the Quran, the Islamic subject, need to access Braille facilities without discrimination," he said.
Participants during a county-based dialogue on education aimed at improving CBC at the North Eastern National Polytechnic in Garissa Town. (Issa Hussein)
He also expressed concern over the lack of teachers being a major impediment to achieving the necessary knowledge and skills for implementing CBC.
He urged the Teachers Service Commission to address the prolonged shortage of teachers caused by the mass transfers from the region due to security threats along the border.
"We have been pleading for a long time to address the shortage of teachers, but much has not been done, affecting the implementation of quality education under the new curriculum," he said.
Aden Bille, the Garissa County chairman for Persons with Disabilities (PWD), regretted that the lack of Braille facilities for visually impaired IRE learners had been a concern for parents whose children were learning at special schools.
He said members of the Garissa PWD had raised the concern with the Ministry of Education, but it was yet to be addressed. He warned that they were contemplating taking legal action to seek justice.
Aden Bille, the Garissa County chairman for Persons with Disabilities (PWD), speaking to the press after his presentation during the County-based dialogue on CBC. (Issa Hussein)
Several other participants highlighted the lack of Braille facilities, the shortage of teachers, inadequate infrastructure such as sufficient classrooms, and inadequate training for teachers in private schools as major challenges in implementing CBC.
Elias Abdi, the Director for National Basic Education, assured stakeholders that the government would address their concerns.
"We are here to collect views that will help the government improve the new curriculum. It was recently introduced, and obviously, we expect teething problems that will be addressed in the near future," he said.
He encouraged participants to explore a broader range of issues regarding curriculum implementation, examinations, teacher training, financial and infrastructural development to help policymakers work towards the successful implementation of CBC.
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