Distinguished Guests;
1. This event exemplifies the level of our commitment to the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda. Kenya’s greatest asset by far remains its enterprising people whose desire for a better tomorrow drives them to do their best every day, and thus drive the wheel of progress forward.
2. Our people are
hard working, talented, skilled and educated and that is no accident. Even during the colonial era, the people of Kenya recognized the power of good education as the key that opened the door to freedom and progress.
3. After the attainment of independence, the rates of enrolment and completion of education have risen steadily until now, when our country has a high level of not just basic numeracy and literacy, but overall skill development. This is reflected by our democracy, which has a high level of popular participation, beyond voting to actual critical and well-informed discourse, to our governance, where Kenyans continually demand answers and ask hard questions, based on a sound grasp of all facts and issues, as well as the preference by investors for Kenya as a place where a competitive labour force is guaranteed.
4. The Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda seeks to maximize all of our nation’s competitive potential by investing in five sectors as key strategic pillars of rapid growth, together with a number of sectors, which are identified as cross-cutting enablers. Education is one of the most important of these sectors.
5. The vital importance of education arises from the fact that it is a public good and government service that must be delivered to everyone inclusively as a matter of citizen’s fundamental constitutional right and state obligation, and is also a critical means of empowering everyone in the country to live a life of possibility, where they can actualize their potential and take part in the daily life of their household, community and nation as an an equal stakeholder.
6. At the same time, inclusive, high quality education that leaves no one behind and pays attention to everyone’s needs, including special needs and disability, skills, gifts and talents, is a tremendous competitive advantage in this globalized knowledge economy. Our leadership in the service sectors, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as high competitiveness in academic achievement as well as technical and managerial prowess is one of the dividends of focusing relentlessly on the empowerment of all our people through education.
7. Consequently, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda is committed to enhancing this focus on education service provision to every person regardless of ability in every region of Kenya, regardless of distance and accessibility, in order to make education live up to its character as a unique public good, and the great equalizer of opportunity. We propose to do this by investing in programmes, projects and strategies that deliver maximum inclusivity in education service provision within the shortest time possible.
8. We are mindful that just in other sectors, any weaknesses in public service provision affects the most vulnerable members of our communities most negatively, and most severely. Inclusivity as a value in public service delivery, is intended to prevent the exposure of the neediest and most vulnerable to undue hardship. Affirmative action and social justice are intended to bring the vulnerable members of the community, including those with special needs to a position where they are meaningfully exposed to equal opportunity.
9. As pledged under our Plan, we appointed the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, which completed its work and submitted their report with recommendations to guide future decisions and policy in the education sector. It is critical for our country to accelerate its national transformation and international competitiveness by making education relevant to our social, governance and strategic economic needs.
10. The government is therefore committed to support the education of all Kenyan children, including those with special needs and disabilities. The competence-based curriculum has therefore opened up developmental pathways designed to accommodate diverse learners, so that those who have difficulty progressing along the age-based pathways can be supported through a stage-based pathway.
11. This policy shift has amplified the demand for better service provision generally, including equipping learners and teachers, training and employing more teachers and enhancing school infrastructures. It has also highlighted the imperative of providing adequate assessment services throughout the country in order to identify special needs and disabilities and facilitate appropriate actions, including appropriate learner placement.
12. The government’s commitment, therefore, extends to giving maximum support to the Kenya Institute of Special Education in its statutory role in order to ensure that it is successful in effectively, sustainably and inclusively provides specialized services to persons with special needs and disabilities.
13. To do so, KISE must continuously train the personnel to serve persons with special needs and disabilities and, most importantly, to sustainably develop the capacities of practicing teachers in special needs pedagogies.
14. Further, it is fundamentally essential that KISE is able to assess children with special needs and disabilities in order to facilitate early interventions, appropriate educational placement and empower parents and teachers to effectively support these children in their development. Our comprehensive parental empowerment programme is therefore essential to our transformation of special needs education and service provision, because parents and guardians are the frontline actors in the growth, development and education of children generally, and, especially, in mitigating the economic and social challenges encountered by children with special needs, including social stigma.
15. Finally, KISE must be able, not only to spearhead research in special needs education, but to quickly become a global leader in this field. Today, that journey acquires greater impetus and urgency, in order to meet the indispensable needs of a nation on an ambitious path of socioeconomic transformation.
16. The launch of this fleet of 203 vehicles to support our officers serving education in all 47 counties is a demonstration of our intent with regard to the transformation of education in general, and in deliberately expanding opportunity to include everyone.
17. I am proud of this investment, because of what it signifies, but also because I know that special needs and education teachers and other service providers are consistently motivated, hardworking and compassionate public servants , who give their best every day in extremely challenging circumstances. I want you to know that your service is recognized and appreciated. More importantly, I give you my assurance of the government’s commitment to take all possible measures to make sure that you do a great job as always, with much less hardship. Keep doing God’s work.
18. This launch, therefore, is the beginning of the government’s agenda to sustain investment in education service provision across the board, and the affirmative support of special education and training to transform opportunity by making it truly inclusive. That is the essence of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
3. After the attainment of independence, the rates of enrolment and completion of education have risen steadily until now, when our country has a high level of not just basic numeracy and literacy, but overall skill development. This is reflected by our democracy, which has a high level of popular participation, beyond voting to actual critical and well-informed discourse, to our governance, where Kenyans continually demand answers and ask hard questions, based on a sound grasp of all facts and issues, as well as the preference by investors for Kenya as a place where a competitive labour force is guaranteed.
4. The Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda seeks to maximize all of our nation’s competitive potential by investing in five sectors as key strategic pillars of rapid growth, together with a number of sectors, which are identified as cross-cutting enablers. Education is one of the most important of these sectors.
5. The vital importance of education arises from the fact that it is a public good and government service that must be delivered to everyone inclusively as a matter of citizen’s fundamental constitutional right and state obligation, and is also a critical means of empowering everyone in the country to live a life of possibility, where they can actualize their potential and take part in the daily life of their household, community and nation as an an equal stakeholder.
6. At the same time, inclusive, high quality education that leaves no one behind and pays attention to everyone’s needs, including special needs and disability, skills, gifts and talents, is a tremendous competitive advantage in this globalized knowledge economy. Our leadership in the service sectors, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as high competitiveness in academic achievement as well as technical and managerial prowess is one of the dividends of focusing relentlessly on the empowerment of all our people through education.
7. Consequently, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda is committed to enhancing this focus on education service provision to every person regardless of ability in every region of Kenya, regardless of distance and accessibility, in order to make education live up to its character as a unique public good, and the great equalizer of opportunity. We propose to do this by investing in programmes, projects and strategies that deliver maximum inclusivity in education service provision within the shortest time possible.
8. We are mindful that just in other sectors, any weaknesses in public service provision affects the most vulnerable members of our communities most negatively, and most severely. Inclusivity as a value in public service delivery, is intended to prevent the exposure of the neediest and most vulnerable to undue hardship. Affirmative action and social justice are intended to bring the vulnerable members of the community, including those with special needs to a position where they are meaningfully exposed to equal opportunity.
9. As pledged under our Plan, we appointed the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, which completed its work and submitted their report with recommendations to guide future decisions and policy in the education sector. It is critical for our country to accelerate its national transformation and international competitiveness by making education relevant to our social, governance and strategic economic needs.
10. The government is therefore committed to support the education of all Kenyan children, including those with special needs and disabilities. The competence-based curriculum has therefore opened up developmental pathways designed to accommodate diverse learners, so that those who have difficulty progressing along the age-based pathways can be supported through a stage-based pathway.
11. This policy shift has amplified the demand for better service provision generally, including equipping learners and teachers, training and employing more teachers and enhancing school infrastructures. It has also highlighted the imperative of providing adequate assessment services throughout the country in order to identify special needs and disabilities and facilitate appropriate actions, including appropriate learner placement.
12. The government’s commitment, therefore, extends to giving maximum support to the Kenya Institute of Special Education in its statutory role in order to ensure that it is successful in effectively, sustainably and inclusively provides specialized services to persons with special needs and disabilities.
13. To do so, KISE must continuously train the personnel to serve persons with special needs and disabilities and, most importantly, to sustainably develop the capacities of practicing teachers in special needs pedagogies.
14. Further, it is fundamentally essential that KISE is able to assess children with special needs and disabilities in order to facilitate early interventions, appropriate educational placement and empower parents and teachers to effectively support these children in their development. Our comprehensive parental empowerment programme is therefore essential to our transformation of special needs education and service provision, because parents and guardians are the frontline actors in the growth, development and education of children generally, and, especially, in mitigating the economic and social challenges encountered by children with special needs, including social stigma.
15. Finally, KISE must be able, not only to spearhead research in special needs education, but to quickly become a global leader in this field. Today, that journey acquires greater impetus and urgency, in order to meet the indispensable needs of a nation on an ambitious path of socioeconomic transformation.
16. The launch of this fleet of 203 vehicles to support our officers serving education in all 47 counties is a demonstration of our intent with regard to the transformation of education in general, and in deliberately expanding opportunity to include everyone.
17. I am proud of this investment, because of what it signifies, but also because I know that special needs and education teachers and other service providers are consistently motivated, hardworking and compassionate public servants , who give their best every day in extremely challenging circumstances. I want you to know that your service is recognized and appreciated. More importantly, I give you my assurance of the government’s commitment to take all possible measures to make sure that you do a great job as always, with much less hardship. Keep doing God’s work.
18. This launch, therefore, is the beginning of the government’s agenda to sustain investment in education service provision across the board, and the affirmative support of special education and training to transform opportunity by making it truly inclusive. That is the essence of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
Thank you.
God Bless you.
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