Dyslexia affects around 10% of learners globally and can block literacy development. While Kenya has nearly doubled primary school enrollment over two decades, students with special needs remain vastly underserved — just 250,000 of the 11.4% of Kenyan children with special needs are enrolled in educational institutions. Rare Gem’s model suggests how schools can serve these students by tweaking existing curricula rather than overhauling them.
At Rare Gem Talent School in Kitengela, Kenya, teachers use hands-on lessons focused on sights, sounds, and feelings designed specifically for students with dyslexia, rather than standing lectures. The school is one of a handful in Kenya tailored to children with dyslexia and other learning challenges, addressing a significant gap in an education system that has expanded access broadly but often left behind students with disabilities.
“Teachers didn’t understand me,” said Jason Malak Atati, a student at the school. “This school is much better.”
How the school teaches
Common issues for children with dyslexia include mixing up letters like “b” and “p” or the number “9,” according to Dennis Omari, a special needs educator. Early signs include phonological-awareness difficulties — trouble listening to exact sounds in a particular language — and reading failure.
Rare Gem addresses these challenges through what educators call a multi-sensorial approach to reading. Visual techniques include coding word sounds with colors. Auditory methods teach spelling patterns through song. Tactile methods use objects to represent word construction that forms the foundation of reading.
“You teach step by step until the learner gets what you’re teaching, not a lecture method where the teacher stands in front,” said Dorothy Kioko, a teacher at Rare Gem. “You have to have additional knowledge on how to handle them with patience.”
Growth since 2012
Rare Gem was set up in 2012 through the Dyslexia Organisation Kenya and opened with fewer than 10 learners. Today the school hosts approximately 210 students, mostly with dyslexia, but also accommodates those with other learning challenges like autism.
Phyllis Munyi, the school’s founder, started Rare Gem after her son faced unaddressed learning challenges from dyslexia. “If they are identified early and intervention given early, they improve their skills and learn to identify their talents — and they complete school,” Munyi said.
The school charges tuition fees of $180 a term, less than the cost of popular high-end private schools but significantly higher than the government schools attended by most Kenyan children.
Addressing stigma and bullying
Stigma and lack of awareness, especially among parents, are the main challenges to getting children into alternative education like Rare Gem early, according to Munyi. Bullying at prior schools is another significant discouraging factor.
“In other, normal schools, there was a lot of discrimination, a lot of bullying,” said Geoffrey Karani, a former Rare Gem student now working as an art teacher at the school. “I’m not only teaching, I’m showing kids that I’ve been on the same journey.”
Beyond Kenya: A model for the continent
Kenya has expanded education access in recent decades. Primary school enrollment rose from 5.9 million in 2002 to 10.2 million in 2023, outpacing population growth.
Yet education access for those with disabilities has lagged significantly. While 11.4% of Kenyan children have special needs, just 250,000 such students are enrolled in the country’s educational institutions, according to So They Can, a nonprofit focused on increasing education access in Africa.
Rare Gem’s curriculum is not bespoke. Rather, it is a version of Kenya’s core curriculum tweaked to meet the learning needs of students with dyslexia and other difficulties. “The curriculum was not designed as a standalone … nor is it limited to dyslexia,” Munyi said.
This approach may offer a model for increasing access without dramatic overhauls to curricula across Africa, where many nations face similar gaps in specialized education for students with learning disabilities.