Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1214092,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1214092/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 137,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Emuhaya, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Let me thank Hon. Wamuchomba for bringing this Motion. I also took my time and talked to her and, indeed, it has come at the appropriate time given that there is a gap in existence in our schooling system and, more so, to do with school uniform and, specifically, the cost. That is what brings us to bear all this, but then it gives us a chance to look at the issue of school uniform broadly in our schools so that we can make some amends that can make schooling accessible. To begin this properly is to go to the laws that are governing education, and I would quickly go to Article 53 of the Constitution, which describes education in Kenya as a right to all children. Therefore, all children, as per Article 53, are supposed to have free and compulsory education in Kenya. That then aligns education as a function of the Government. That is why at one time, when education was to be devolved, we who were in the education sector at that time then completely refused that it should be devolved. That is because it is supposed to be a right of the children; meaning then, that this must be funded basically by the Government. Yesterday, we were talking about the Junior Secondary School Education, and which we were confronted with the same thing: Who should pay for the cost of education in this country, given that it is a right to all the children in Kenya? Then I would quickly go to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 4, which defines education as a lifelong right for all the children and prefers that the first thing we should achieve in education is access. Are children able to access education? That is what we go for first. Once they have accessed, then we look at the other components or matters of quality and so on. Anything that hinders a child from reaching school is a barrier and must be removed. That barrier must be removed by those who have been assigned the task of providing education in Kenya; and that is the Government of Kenya. Therefore, currently as we speak, school uniform is part of the barriers to access to education. That is why this Parliament is speaking about it. We must remove all the barriers that are limiting students to access school, especially the poor students from the villages and poor families. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}