National Action on the Book Famine project pilots actions to trigger and support the implementation of the Marrakesh treaty in Kenya, which has direct demeanour to improve quality of education for learners and trainees with visual impairments. The project contributes to the global efforts on inclusive and equitable education as provided for on SDG No. 4 and the National Education Strategic Sector Plan (NESSP 2018-2022) anchored on vision 2030. The project supports national and county level pedagogy interventions which delivers both policy stakeholder engagement and service delivery outputs within Kenya’s special needs education (SNE) space. Inclusive education is a priority on Kenya’s action plan and agenda arising from the recently concluded Global Disability Summit (GDS) in London held in July 2018.

Policy adoption to end book famine 

The Kenya Union for the Blind (KUB) implemented an influencing project from Jan 2019 to Dec 2020. The project National Action on the Book Famine (NABFA) piloted actions to trigger and support the implementation in Kenya of the Marrakesh treaty, which has direct potential effect of improving quality of education for learners and trainees with visual impairments. 

KUB has worked with stakeholders since June 2013 to lobby for the ratification of the treaty in Kenya. Kenya officially ratified the treaty in June 2017. After the ratification, the law continues to gather dust at the Kenya  Copyright  Board (KECOBO),  the agency responsible for its  enforcement.  The project contributed to global efforts on inclusive and equitable education as provided for on SDG No. 4 and the National Education Strategic Sector Plan (NESSP 2018-2022) anchored on vision 2030. As a result of the collaborations and partnerships established, KUB worked in collaboration with various actors to achieve different aspects of project outcomes i.e.  working  with  special  schools  and  various  state  ministries,  departments  and agencies  (MDAs)  i.e.  Ministry  of  Education (MoE)  Kenya  Institute  of  Curriculum Development  (KICD),  Office  of  the  Attorney  General,  Kenya  Copyright  Board (KECOBO), among others. Collaboration also featured private sector organisations, civil society organisations (CSOs) and media. 

Additionally, 24 teachers were equipped with Adapted Digital Literacy skills. Further, 1000 textbooks were reproduced in Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) formats with 2000 copies of the Marrakesh treaty text reproduced and delivered to stakeholders’ in accessible formats. In  2020,  KUB  established  a  portal  to  enhance  access  and  sharing  of  textbooks equitably and as a result about 250 pupils are not able to access digital books in schools with additional books to be uploaded onto the portal. With  all  the  initiatives  and  partnerships  developed  throughout  the  project,  the project has  contributed  to  adoption  of  policies  and practices  that  promote  digital  learning  and  access  to  books  for  the  print disabled. Similarly, the  concept  of  Adapted  Digital  Learning  for  learners  and  trainees  with visual  impairments  in  special  schools  for  the  blind  had  taken  shape  in  within 24   months.   The   Marrakesh   treaty   is   now   domesticated   by   the   Kenyan government and 79 contracting parties (105 countries) and therefore guarantees a future where all visually impaired persons can access books without limits. 

Subsequently, a new Book On Demand (BOND) portal has been established where some 250 students started accessing digital books on demand. This enhances access and sharing of text books equitably. Significant changes have been noted with the MoE that demonstrated goodwill, commitment and willingness to support policies that promote access to books and digital learning as well as provision of alternative forms of learning to the visually impaired learners. 

KUB will continue working with MoE and project schools to ensure that adequate evidence is generated to strengthen action on the book famine among populations of visually impaired persons. The KUB Centre for Adaptive Technologies will be responsible to following up with the MoE and scaling of the NABFA project in schools for the visually impaired. The centre will also monitor the implementation of the Marrakesh treaty and the policy on education for learners and trainees with disabilities.