Children's rights to education: a case of children with disabilities in Nairobi county

Abstract

Children with disabilities have an equal right to an inclusive, quality and free primary education and lower secondary education. These rights are set out in the national, regional and international human rights instruments. Yet, thousands of children with disabilities in Nairobi County are out of school for a number of reasons. This study was designed to describe and analyze the extent to which children with disabilities enjoy their fundamental human rights in terms of accessing to quality education in Nairobi County. The specific objectives of the study were; to analyze the trends of rights to education among children with disabilities, describe the extent to which children with disabilities enjoy their rights to education and analyzed whether education service providers and parents of children with disabilities are aware of the rights to education for children with disabilities. The study employed qualitative research method of data collection and analysis. Data was collected in three constituencies of Nairobi County; Dagoretti, Kibera and Embakasi. The findings of the study confirmed that children with disabilities do not enjoy their inherent right to education. A significant number of respondents (61%) indicated that school facilities such as toilets, classrooms and playgrounds are not accessible to their day to day learning needs. In addition, the findings of the study revealed that the vast majority of teachers (87%) reported that the current curriculum and examination procedures are not designed to meet the learning needs of learners with disabilities. Finally, the majority of respondents, both parents and teachers (95%) are not aware of any existing human rights laws that protect and promote access to education for children with disabilities in the study locations. The study therefore, recommended the need for a comprehensive human rights education and interventions for parents, teachers of children with disabilities and care givers as well as relevant education officials. The study also, recommended the need to institute an effective mechanism for preventing and reporting human rights violations in mainstream schools.