For a 15-year-old candidate from Joyland Special Primary school in Vihiga county, being abled differently has not slowed her down.
The class eight student amazed her teachers after effortlessly writing her national exams using her toes.
She is among the over 1.2 million learners who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2022, that started on Monday, November 28.
According to her teachers, there are several candidates in the school living with disabilities .
"It consumes time but the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has provided 30 minutes extra to students abled differently to complete their exams," Miriam Obiero KNEC supervisor stated.
According to the school physiotherapist Austin Munyendo, her limbs have adapted to perform the work of the hands.
"The reason behind the pupil not being able to use the proper limbs for writing is a cause of the paralytic situation," Munyendo explained.
He added that as a physiotherapist, he ensures that the rigid joints are movable, the muscles are developing and any child is using any means of adaptation.
However, teachers in the school lamented over delayed funding from the government to help care for the students with different challenges.
"The funding is not timely, so at times we go beyond borrowing," Opari Anthony, the headteacher lamented.
He added that sensitisation to parents is necessary so they can prioritise their children living with disabilities.
KNEC also caters to candidates who have visual and hearing impairment. The Council made available three different exam timetables namely, normal, large print, and braille.
In 2020, KCPE candidates with special needs outdid their counterparts in 2019. The best student in 2020 scored 420 while in 2019, the top student scored 414.
“This improvement underscores the fact that performance in the 2020 KCPE was commendable and those special needs children, given a fair and conducive environment, can excel,” stated the then Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha.
