THE government has been urged to conduct a national census for mentally challenged children to help enrol them in school. Speaking in Wangunyu village in Kiambaa yesterday during an open day for mentally challenged children, Kiambaa parliamentary aspirant Muniu Kinuthia said there are still many mentally disabled children in Kiambaa and their parents have been locking them in houses denying them their rights. "The government should act with speed and identify the mentally challenged children so that they can get help and live a better life rather than being locked as many parents are doing," Muniu said.

He said the mentally disabled have been neglected for so long yet they are people like anyone else and there is an urgent need to take them to special schools. "Since the mentally disabled are living with us in the society, there should be government schools for them where parents can take them to be given life skills to make them self-reliant," Muniu said.

Muniu decried the falling education standards in Kiambaa. He said education stakeholders should come together and address the issue. He said so much attention has been given to girls at the expense of boys in Kiambaa. Muniu lamented that some boy schools in Kiambaa have been turned into girl schools due to the declining number of boys joining high schools.