Right to Inclusive Education for Students with Disabilities in Kenya

Abstract

This article explores the current inclusive education system in Kenya, and how those practices relate to Article 24 of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Local laws and international instruments are presented to shed light on the extent to which students with disabilities have a right to inclusive education in Kenya. Inclusive education is in its nascent stage in Kenya, and many barriers currently exist in the development of an inclusive education system. Such barriers include: poverty, child labor, natural disasters, HIV/AIDS, gender, ethnicity, access to healthcare, access to food, and availability of clean drinking water. In order for Kenya to develop an inclusive education system in accordance with the CRPD, the author proposes the following: development of a country/region-centered plan, implementation of inclusion reports, development of an inclusive network for schools throughout Kenya, and clarification of ambiguous language and terms within Article 24 of the CRPD, as applied to Kenyan laws and policies.