Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho's administration announced that a special group of learners in the county will get free transport to school.
The county's education executive, John Musuva told journalists that all children living with disabilities in Mombasa will get free transport from next term.
Joho's government is registering children for the School Transport System for Children with Disabilities (Stride) project.
This project was facilitated in partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) as they aim to improve access to education for children living with disabilities.
“The assessments are being undertaken on-site for purposes of issuing disability cards to all eligible children. Educational assessments will be undertaken for placement of children in appropriate schools,” Musuva remarked.
Those who will be eligible for enrolment in the free school transport system include school-going children aged four to 24 years.
The county will also seek to get proof of age through a birth certificate, a letter from the area chief, proof of residency in Mombasa with a letter from the village head and proof of nationality through the National Identity card of a parent or guardian.
According to Musuva, Mombasa County is looking to improve the number of children who will enrol to school when the next term begins by offering free transport.
The county noted that most children living with disabilities don't have proper access to education due to stigma and transport challenges.
“The development of this programme was informed by the Mombasa Social Protection Strategy 2017, which highlighted the key intervention areas for social protection programmes within the county," Musuva stated.
He also remarked that parents of children with disabilities opt to leave their children at home instead of taking them to school because they lack access to disability-friendly institutions.
The programme centres on unconditional cash transfers to help with school-related expenses for children with disabilities.
