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"id": 128916,
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"content": "Whereas I support this Motion that the money given to HELB should be enhanced to enable the Board fund students in middle-level colleges, especially those offering technical courses, it is imperative that, while that is being done simultaneously, there must be a re-look on the funding for university students, so that we are able to give funding that equalizes the children from poor and rich families. Education is a commodity not exclusively for the rich, but for all human beings. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Government must start asking itself why students from our country are flocking elsewhere in the world. They are flocking to India, America and Europe. It means that Kenya is funding the education system of those countries. When you go as a foreign student, you pay more than the local students. But they are going there because education is cheaper in India than it is in Kenya. It is cheaper in Uganda and Tanzania. How come that our public universities, when they offer parallel courses, charge almost as much as private universities? What benefit is the Government giving to the public? We need to look at the fees structures. We also need to grade our middle-level colleges. Other than the ones run by the Government, there is no system of helping Kenyans identify genuine and bogus colleges that are set up only for commercial reasons. Such colleges end up ripping off Kenyans. We need that so that we can know we are funding students who will then do courses that are useful. While waiting for that to happen, I know that most of us are spending a greater percentage of our CDF on education. In Gichugu, we have not been offering any bursaries except for secondary schools. But now, we have embarked on offering bursaries for both university and middle-level colleges. But we are having problems in grading. I am, therefore, saying that if CDF, which is just a small fraction, can do something about education, how much more can the Government do if it embraces the noble idea of enhancing the amount given to HELB to cover middle level colleges? Finally, I want to say this: Even those middle-level colleges are becoming unnecessarily expensive. To take a student to Kenya Medical Training College (MKTC), it costs roughly Kshs60,000 for the regular courses. For parallel courses, it is towards Kshs70,000. For education, it has moved from Kshs25,000 to over Kshs40,000. That is totally unaffordable. The Government must subsidize the running of the Government- aided colleges to make training accessible to both the poor and the rich in the society. Currently, many people who have been offered places in middle-level colleges are dropping out because they cannot afford the fees charged there. There is something wrong in the way we are pricing education. If one thinks about it, it is a question of accountability and transparency in the way we are running our education facilities, beginning with the universities to middle-level colleges. If we have transparency, accountability and efficiency in the way we apply our financial and human resources, then education would be affordable. I like quoting the example of Cuba. Cuba is a country that not only believes in, but also practices the ideology that education is a basic right and makes sure that it is accessible to all. Cuba pays for the education of her citizens throughout their life cycle. If Cuba, which is not one of the richest nations can do it, with proper planning, we can do it too. That is why I said that our policy on education is all wrong. We need to re-look and prioritise education. We also need to manage it efficiently. Even the free primary education is not managed efficiently. Let us have a re-look and as we support the"
}