Universities Race Against Time Before Historic 2029 Student Intake.
Kenyan universities, in partnership with the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE), have intensified preparations to ensure learners with disabilities are fully accommodated when the first Competency-Based Education (CBE) cohort joins institutions of higher learning in 2029.
The preparations were outlined during a breakfast meeting attended by university vice-chancellors and officials from the Kenya Institute of Special Education, where discussions focused on strengthening institutional readiness for inclusive higher education under the Competency-Based Education framework.
Kenya Institute of Special Education Director Dr. Norman Kiogora stated that the collaboration between universities and KISE will focus on conducting comprehensive needs assessments for learners with disabilities, strengthening research initiatives, embracing emerging assistive technologies, and enhancing institutional capacity to deliver inclusive education across universities.
Dr. Kiogora noted that the Competency-Based Education curriculum provides the strongest framework for inclusion compared to previous education systems implemented in Kenya.
“This curriculum is the best ever in terms of inclusion. It is the best compared to other curriculums we’ve had in this country, and therefore we are going to support in terms of assessment. We are going to support in devices for those who will be interested to, subject to various universities. We will support in terms of assessment, screening, and above all, provision of devices,” Dr. Kiogora said.
The planned interventions will include needs assessments for learners with disabilities, assessment and screening services, provision of assistive devices, promotion of emerging assistive technologies, collaborative research, and institutional support aimed at ensuring inclusive education across institutions of higher learning.
University leaders also emphasized the importance of strengthening collaboration across all levels of the education system to facilitate a smooth transition for learners with disabilities from basic education to university.
Speaking during the meeting, one of the university representatives noted that preparations for the 2029 cohort should begin before students complete secondary education.
“Preparation for the students starts with the pipeline. Are the universities connecting with the high schools? Are they connecting with the grade schools? What are things being done at that level that then we can pick up to continue because it’s like a relay. Each one does their part. They come to the next level, we take it up, at that next level we take it up,” the representative stated.
Participants further underscored the need to mainstream disability inclusion across university functions, including teaching, research, and community engagement.
“In research and in outreach activities, we can integrate people living with disability. We can integrate our curriculum to include them. We can integrate our research to include them, and we need to integrate our outreach activities to include them,” another university representative said.
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The first Competency-Based Education cohort is expected to join Kenyan universities and other institutions of higher learning in 2029, marking the transition of learners who have progressed through the Competency-Based Curriculum into tertiary education.
The partnership between Kenyan universities and the Kenya Institute of Special Education is intended to strengthen institutional preparedness through assessments, research, assistive technologies, screening services, and the provision of support devices to facilitate inclusive learning for students with disabilities.
Universities Race Against Time Before Historic 2029 Student Intake.
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