The Nakuru County Government is implementing policy guidelines in its Technical Vocational Education and Training institutions (TVET), aimed at promoting access to special needs students to acquire practical skills and knowledge.
County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Education, ICT, and e-government Ms Zipporah Wambui affirmed the County Government’s commitment to ensuring that special needs students acquire capabilities that will enable them compete in the labor market fairly.
Ms Wambui emphasized the importance of TVETs in ensuring that differently abled Kenyans acquire the practical skills needed in Kenya’s evolving job market.
The CECM spoke when she visited the Nakuru Vocational Training Center in Bondeni where over 100 students with special needs have enrolled in various courses including Fashion and Design, Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy.
Ms Wambui elaborated that inclusive training was intended to end marginalization of people with special needs and differently abled in the labor market and also help in reducing social economic costs to individual and community at large.
“We have ensured that special needs students have access to instructors who assist with interpretation during both practical sessions and classwork, “she added.
The County official voiced Governor Kihika’s commitment to advocating for absolute integration, where learners with special needs are enrolled in different vocational institutions across the county along with the normal students.
She acknowledged that they were aware that most vocational institutions cannot admit all eligible students to promote inclusive training, but assured that plans were under way to adapt TVET infrastructure to make it differently abled friendly and also provide sanitary facilities for female students, to help in retention.
While emphasizing the need to expand infrastructure, review curriculum, build trainer capacity, increase funding and implement affirmative action needed for special needs education, Ms Wambui hailed the Nakuru Vocational Training Center for accommodating trainees with different levels of disability despite inadequate facilities.
She urged instructors in vocational institutions to emphasize on practical skills training to enable differently abled learners to be self-reliant once they complete their education adding that through constant training and practice both physically and mentally challenged individuals could learn and become responsible people.
The CECM regretted that due to lack of vocational skills many special needs learners are left at the mercy of relatives or caregivers, once they complete education.
“We must think about a time when learners with special needs will not be in school, when they are back in their communities and how they will survive”, Ms Wambui advised.
She indicated that some of the renowned photographers, performing artists, entrepreneurs, painters and fine artists around the world were former special needs pupils adding that differently abled youngsters have a way of turning their gifts, creativity and passion into a livelihood.
Inclusion of special needs individuals in employment, Ms Wambui noted, provides them the opportunity for social and economic participation.
At the same time Ms Wambui urged parents of learners with special needs to invest in their children’s talent and consider enrolling them for courses like fine art, tailoring, leatherwork among others, depending on the child’s gifts.
By Esther Mwangi
