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{
    "id": 1214533,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1214533/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 371,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 170,
        "legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
        "slug": "bonny-khalwale"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we have heard about the story of the proverbial ostrich that buried its head in the sand. The President opened up and admitted to the country that he does not want a one-man show. When there were many vibes about the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), he appointed a Special Committee comprising of education specialist and other professionals to advise him. Today, Parliament is quiet. We should be asking ourselves about issues raised by Sen. Cherarkey on the CBC and supported by other colleagues. What is our advice to the President? Where is the Committee on Education in this House and where is the Committee on Education in the National Assembly? We need to have our own mind, unlike those professionals who get reports from the elites who go to the boardrooms in their meetings when they are invited even for public participation. We, as elected people, are accessed by the real parents of the ‘hustler’ children. Therefore, we should carry that information to the President. What am I saying? The difference between the CBC and what it is replacing is about what choice you would prefer to develop. The CBC seeks to base development on competence. The old system is basing it on development of knowledge. What should come first? If, indeed, we are true to the nation, competence cannot precede knowledge. A person you want to teach competence should have some basic knowledge of science, if you want to make them competent in a science-based sector. We have a unique opportunity, because of the problems of CBC, for us to expand village polytechnics, Technical Training Institutes (TTIs) and Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVETs) centres that teach competence. This is so that the balance of children who cannot proceed to secondary school can be taught competence at the village polytechnics, TTIs or TVETs. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Kenyans must now prepare themselves for it. We have been having Standard 8 dropouts. Now we are going to have Grade 6 dropouts. If 12-year old Grade 6 pupils drop out of school, you will be preparing the children of the poor to be house girls, shamba boys and herds boys in the homes of the rich. It is a conversation that we must carry. I visited Malinya Primary School where I went to school and where all my children sit for their Class 8 examinations. I found 115 Grade 7 children in one classroom with only one teacher who has been posted there. The teacher is strained because he is a physics and chemistry teacher, but he is in charge of all the twelve subjects. I asked the principal what was going on in the school. I wondered how a teacher who is trained to teach physics and chemistry would serve the entire school. Sen. Joe Nyutu has scared me even more. I had not reflected that in a few months from now, there will be other Grade 6 pupils graduating to Grade 7 and they will soon be in Grade 8. I do not know how fast we are either training or recruiting teachers that will fit not only Malinya, but all the other primary schools. Sen. Joe Nyutu and Sen. Cherargei, we are on the Government side. If we are not careful, we may fear that if we speak to these issues, we may be criticizing our own"
}