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{
    "id": 1368032,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1368032/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 212,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "the children have sat down and they have decided they are going to break a law. Sometimes, children are just being children. In the process, there is conception. If we do not have these clear provisions in law that assures them that to make mistakes is human and to make a mistake is not the end of life, our children will be going back streets to procure abortion services. If abortion is done in a manner that is not properly supervised, we will be killing our children. As parents, we sit on a high pedestal. We think that we are perfect and that our children should not conceive before the age of 18. If we were to do a proper and honest analysis, many of us, especially many Members of Parliament, whose parents are from the old generation, are children of children because our mothers would be married early and our fathers would marry early. Therefore, we should not condemn our children in this generation that if they conceive and have a child, then they cannot be readmitted to school. In as much as we are coming up with laws, we must also ensure that a child, who has conceived and given birth, can be readmitted to a school. We should not have a situation where, members of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) or some groupings of parents start protesting that, that a child cannot come back to this school because they are going to serve as a bad example. In many cases, school principals and teachers have no problem re-admitting a child who has given birth. In some cases, it is the parents who resist. They say: “If this girl goes back to school and my daughter does not have a child, they are practically telling my daughter that it is okay for her to have a child. As such, a child who had a child should stay at home.” That is the height of selfishness. It goes against the African spirit of socialism. That goes against everything that we stand for as a community. Everyone has an opportunity to get access to education and is entitled to the rights that are conferred, not just to children, but adults in the Constitution of Kenya. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I know there could be policy statements that have come from the Ministry of Education. However, policy statements are at a lower level in the hierarchy compared to legislative frameworks like this. We believe that if the Senate is going to pass this Bill, we will make it very clear that if a child has a child, they can still go back to school, have access to the opportunities that other people have. This Bill deals with the child of the child. The child of the child must also be given access to childcare services. We should not imagine those childcare services to be stand-alone facilities. This Bill must find a way of integrating those child care services to the Early Childhood Education and Development Centres (ECDEs) that have already been assigned to county governments in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. Let us not talk of alternative structures because when you say that, some governors find an opportunity for procurement and project management and the pilfering that goes along with new projects. Child care centres should be an integral part of ECDE centres. Many counties have done fairly well in developing early childhood education centres. Recently, we went to Mombasa to look at the progress of some ECDE centres. We were impressed with the model that the county had adopted. They are not just building some four walled rooms and then throwing children in them. They have built actual centres where children can The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}