St. Patricks Special School’s Deputy Headteacher Irene Gachathi has challenged schools countrywide to establish special units to cater for the physically and mentally handicapped children, lamenting that so many cases missed an opportunity to learn due to the lack of enough facilities.
Gachathi said that if all schools had a special unit, children with special needs would get a chance to benefit and improve their lives, thus helping them secure jobs in the future.
“Special schools not only try to rectify the mental state of people but also develop skills,” explained Gachathi.
She called on parents whose children were mentally challenged not to live in denial, but instead take their kids to these institutions of learning where they would benefit from their programmes.
Gachathi said that St Patricks Special School in Thika has a total of 98 pupils aged between the ages six to 18 years who, on admission, passed through an evaluation process which involved an interview where an education assessment was carried out to establish the nature of the child’s challenges.
“Students found with autism join the autistic class while the others are put in vocational classes ranging from level one to level three according to academic performance,” she explained.
“Level one and two are pre-vocational classes to teach basic skills. The learner then progresses to the vocational classes where they can make products for sale such as scuffs, purses, key holders, hand bags, mats among others,” he added.