Rapid Assessment of the Placement and Admission of Grade 10 Learners with Disabilities

National Gender and Equality Commission

Summary

A rapid assessment by the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) found that Grade 10 placement of learners with disabilities did not consistently match schools' capacity and specialisation. It followed an inquiry at Lenana School, where 118 learners with diverse disabilities were placed in a school without the facilities and specialised staff to support them.

Between 28th and 30th January 2026, NGEC assessed seven public schools in Nairobi and Kiambu Counties: two special and five mainstream or integrated. The two special schools reported 487 learners with disabilities, while the five mainstream schools reported 23 in total. Special schools have expertise and partnerships but face overcrowding and shortages of braille, large-print and assistive technology. Mainstream schools are willing to include learners but most lack accessible washrooms and dormitories, trained teachers and coordinating structures.

The report also found that support depends heavily on donors and goodwill, that assessment reports often did not accompany learners, and that learners and parents had little say in placement. It recommends needs-based placement, early assessment, adequate public funding, specialised teachers, accessible materials and school inclusion committees.

Key findings

Both special schools assessed reported receiving more learners, including learners with high support needs, than their facilities and staff could support, and placement decisions did not consistently consider a school's specialisation.
The two special schools assessed reported 487 learners with disabilities (391 at Joytown Secondary School and 96 at Thika High School for the Visually Impaired), while the five mainstream schools reported between one and ten each, 23 in total.
Disability assessment reports often did not accompany learners at admission, leaving schools to assess learners after they arrived.
Aquinas High School had ten learners with visual, physical and hearing disabilities and no teacher trained in special needs education, out of 53 teachers.
Only one of the five mainstream schools, Ngara Girls High School, had a disability mainstreaming committee.
Common accessibility gaps across the seven schools were inaccessible washrooms and dormitories, steep or poorly designed ramps, uneven pathways, limited assistive learning materials and shortages of assistive ICT equipment.
Schools relied on donors and philanthropic partners for therapy, assistive devices and learner welfare, and teachers and support staff sometimes used their own resources to support learners.
Schools did not consistently record learners with disabilities by sex, age or level of support need, and learners and parents had little say in placement decisions.

Recommendations

The Ministry of Education should base placement on assessed needs, school capacity and specialisation, consult learners and parents, and provide a clear and timely mechanism to review unsuitable placements.
The Ministry and the Kenya Institute of Special Education should ensure every learner with a disability is assessed before transition, establish county assessment centres, and make sure assessment reports travel with the learner.
The Ministry should fund assistive devices, accessible learning materials, infrastructure and specialised support in special and mainstream schools so schools do not depend on donors, and ease overcrowding in special schools.
The Ministry should prioritise upgrading inaccessible washrooms, dormitories, laboratories, ramps and pathways, and apply universal design standards to new construction.
The Ministry should track placement outcomes with data disaggregated by sex, age, type of disability and level of support need.
The Teachers Service Commission should recruit and deploy teachers trained in special needs education according to need, including braille, Kenya Sign Language and orientation and mobility specialists, and train all teachers in inclusive practice.
The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development should provide adapted CBE materials in braille, large print and accessible digital formats at the same time as for other learners.
Schools and Boards of Management should set up disability inclusion committees, audit accessibility, strengthen learner support and partner with organisations of persons with disabilities and health and rehabilitation providers.

How the study was done

Qualitative rapid assessment conducted between 28th and 30th January 2026 in seven purposively selected public schools (two special, five mainstream or integrated). Methods were key informant interviews with principals, deputy principals and admission teachers, site visits, direct observation of infrastructure and accessibility, and a desk review of laws and policies, using one common assessment guide. Learners and parents were not interviewed directly, and findings cannot be generalised to all Kenyan senior schools.

Questions & answers

What did the NGEC assessment of Grade 10 placement for learners with disabilities find?

The National Gender and Equality Commission found that placement decisions did not consistently reflect schools' capacity and specialisation. Special schools were overstretched, mainstream schools lacked accessible facilities, trained teachers and coordinating structures, and support relied heavily on donors and goodwill. Assessment reports often did not accompany learners, and learners and parents had little say in placement.

Which schools did NGEC assess?

NGEC assessed seven public schools in Nairobi and Kiambu Counties. The two special schools were Thika High School for the Visually Impaired and Joytown Secondary School. The five mainstream or integrated schools were Upper Hill Secondary School, Moi Girls Secondary School, Moi Forces Academy, Ngara Girls High School and Aquinas High School. Fieldwork ran from 28th to 30th January 2026.

How many learners with disabilities were in the schools assessed?

The two special schools reported 487 learners with disabilities: 391 with physical disabilities at Joytown Secondary School and 96 with visual impairments or albinism at Thika High School for the Visually Impaired. The five mainstream schools reported between one and ten learners with disabilities each, 23 in total.

What happened at Lenana School?

On 15th and 16th January 2026, NGEC carried out a preliminary inquiry at Lenana School and found 118 learners with diverse disabilities, many with high support needs, had been placed there. The school lacked the accessible infrastructure, specialised staff and support services for so large and diverse a group. The case prompted the wider rapid assessment.

What are the main barriers to inclusion in mainstream schools?

Most mainstream schools assessed lacked accessible washrooms and dormitories, teachers trained in special needs education and a structure for coordinating inclusion. Aquinas High School had no trained teacher among 53 teachers for ten learners with disabilities. Only Ngara Girls High School had a disability mainstreaming committee. Some ramps were too steep and dormitories were upstairs.

What does Kenyan law say about admission of learners with disabilities?

Under Section 20 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025, persons with disabilities have the right to admission to any institution of learning and cannot be excluded because of disability. Every learner has the right to assessment and appropriate placement, institutions must provide individualised support and assistive devices, and denying admission on the basis of disability is an offence.

What does NGEC recommend to improve placement of learners with disabilities?

NGEC recommends that placement follow assessed need, school capacity and specialisation, with learners and parents consulted. It also calls for timely assessment with reports accompanying learners, public funding for accessibility, assistive devices and materials, deployment of trained teachers, accessible CBE materials, and disability inclusion committees in schools.

What are the limitations of the study?

The assessment covered only seven schools in two counties, so it cannot be generalised to all Kenyan senior schools. It relied mainly on school administrators, did not interview learners or parents directly, lacked data by sex, age or support need, lasted three days, and was done in January 2026 soon after admission.