Most deaf children out of school, says former Knut boss

By Allan Kisia

Concern has been raised over the high number of deaf children who are out of school.

Former Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General Francis Ng’ang’a, now the national chairman of the Kenya Society for Deaf Children (KSDC), said only 8,000 deaf children are in school.

“Our survey recently showed there are about 200,000 deaf children across the country. If only 8,000 are in school, we want to know where 192,000 children who are supposed to be in school, are,” said Mr Ng’ang’a.

He however admitted only a few schools offer learning for deaf children. He noted that there are 20 secondary and 105 primary schools for deaf children.

Ng’ang’a further asked the Government to consider prosecuting parents who keep the deaf children at home.

“We have been calling on parents to take their deaf children to school. The Government should use chiefs and assistant chiefs to ensure all deaf children access education,” he stated.

KSDC is a non-profit organisation which was established in 1958 to address the needs and interests of deaf children in areas of health, education and general welfare.

On health, the society focuses on prevention of deafness and HIV/Aids, among others.

The society also supports programmes aimed at identifying, assessing and placing of hearing impaired children through provision of audiological equipment, materials and training of Ear Throat and Nose staff across the country.

In an interview with The Standard yesterday, Ng’ang’a further challenged the Government to put up more schools for the deaf.

He said one of the goals of his organisation is to push for the establishment of a university for the deaf, which will be the first of its kind in Africa.

“We thank the Government for providing teachers for deaf pupils. We are nonetheless looking for forward for the day there will be a ground-breaking ceremony for a university for the deaf, probably in five years time,” he added.