The Adequacy of Legal and Policy framework Governing the Right to basic Education by children with learning disabilities in Kenya

Abstract

Disability means a “physical, sensory, mental or other impairment including any visual, hearing, learning or physical incapability which impacts adversely on social, economic or environmental participation”1. Learning Disabilities (“LD”) refer to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities.2 These disorders are intrinsic to an individual, and are symptomatic to persons suffering from various dysfunctions in the central nervous system.3 LD persist in various forms across the life span, with its precursors—manifested in different forms, such as language delays or language deficits in early childhood—appearing before formal schooling and continuing into adulthood.4 Students with learning disabilities face many challenges in pursuit of their education such as peer bullying, inefficient pedagogical approaches, academic and social exclusion. 5 This is largely attributed to lack of capacity building in the very teachers that instruct thesestudents.6 Early childhood education is so foundational in the growth of a child and children with learning disability need this more, physical and cognitive development, to enable them to be in an inclusive environment’7 In Kenya is estimated that out of 1,000 persons, 25 to 30 of them live with various forms of learning disabilities. Studies have placed the prevalence of moderate to severe learning disabilities at between 3 to 4 out of 1000 persons.8 39 percent of children with learning disabilities sampled were attending mainstream primary schools, and 9 percent were attending high school.9 It is also reported that 39 percent of the children with disabilities drop out of school due to their disability and lack of fitting education system for their peculiar thus their marginalization.10 Needless to say, education is a prerequisite to national development as it lays the foundation for unlocking and protecting human rights.11 For children with learning disabilities, education is even more critical as it gives them an opportunity to learn, interact and enhance their full potential. In the past, scholars and educators opined that intellectual disability was static and not dynamic and therefore, nothing could be done to improve the functionality of individuals with disability