BY KNA’s Anita Omwenga
Murang’a County Assembly has raised concern over the challenges being faced by persons with disability, especially in their right to access education.
In a report tabled before the House by MCA for Gaturi ward Gathee Wa Njeri on the welfare of PWDs, it was revealed that their right to education faced many challenges, and if not promptly addressed, the majority of them would be shut out of formal education.
Wa Njeri said that there are no specialized schools to cater to formative stages of education for people with disabilities in the county.
“Basic Education specifically early childhood education provision is mandated to devolved county units that should ensure every child accesses education,” said Wa Njeri, a member of the Youth, Culture, Gender, and Social Services Committee.
According to the report, the county lacks special early childhood education centers where children with disabilities could be enrolled and have their unique challenges identified early enough for specialized care and education.
Wa Njeri observed that in the majority of areas within the county, children with disabilities were forced to attend classes with non-disabled children and thus they are denied the care, attention, and facilities they require.
According to the report on data provided by the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) of Youth, Culture, Gender, and Social Services, Murang’a County has a total of 5,076 individuals who are registered with the National Council for Disabled Persons.
The figures are distributed in sub-counties as follows: Kiharu 990, Gatanga 956, Kandara 850, Maragua 820, Kigumo 560, Kangema 530 and Mathioya 370,
Wa Njeri said Social Development Officers/welfare officers at the county and sub-county level work in conjunction with the area chiefs to identify, record, and process the registration of PWDs.
“I urge every MCA to sensitize their people on the importance of being registered with the relevant body,” he said adding that once registered, they are then referred to County Hospitals for assessment.
The committee observed that the county lacks specialized vocational training centers where PWDs could go and acquire skills for self-employment or even for employment purposes.
“There are some people with minimum challenges and they can engage in technical activities like plumbing, hairdressing, and tailoring among others,” he said, adding that these talents ended up not being utilized because there are no centers where these talents could be tapped, enhanced and then released in the market.
MCA for Nginda John Mwangi while supporting the motion observed that there was no policy framework that was guiding persons with disabilities.
“We will work hard to ensure that PWDs get better services in order for them to realize their full potential,” he said.
Mwangi urged his fellow MCAs to make sure that PWDs in their wards are registered in the relevant programmes in the county so that they could benefit from the services being offered.
The report recommended that the County Department of Social Welfare should sensitize and facilitate the assessment of persons with disabilities and update their database in line with the current sub-counties.
Other recommendations were that together with CECM in charge of Trade, the welfare officers should identify sections of various markets within the county, rehabilitate them to be user-friendly to persons with disabilities, and assign them to entrepreneurs with disabilities to carry out their businesses.
Further, the committee recommended that the CECM in charge of Youth Affairs, Culture, and Social Services should initiate a collaboration agreement with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities to address the welfare of persons with disabilities in the county as per provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act.
Article 54 of the Constitution enumerates the rights granted to persons with disabilities, which include among other rights, the right to access educational institutions and facilities for persons with disabilities that are integrated into society to the extent compatible with the interests of the person.