HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1380763,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1380763/?format=api",
"text_counter": 587,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Ezekiel Machogu",
"speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Education",
"speaker": {
"id": 13458,
"legal_name": "Ezekiel Machogu Ombaki",
"slug": "ezekiel-machogu-ombaki"
},
"content": "the Members of Parliament. Hon. Speaker, I am hoping that once you give us those figures, it will work out. I have had a meeting with all the principals of the national schools. Among the discussion was that where they have numbers because of economies of scale, they are able to manage. We are able to give them the required figure. They would manage until we form some kind of a taskforce that would do some assessment on whether we have to increase the school fees or not. We want to make education accessible. We do not want to make it a preserve of a few but those who are able. Education is supposed to be the greatest social equaliser. Those were the recommendations we made. Once you approve, I hope the Government and Parliament would allocate funds as an essential package to schools which do not have optimal numbers. The solutions are in the recommendations, and what Parliament would direct. On the transitions as said by the Member for Nairobi, we have figures for each and every county. When we started the 100 per cent transition, we were struggling at 74 per cent but, currently, the total in the country is 98 per cent. As for Nairobi County, I would be able to give the figures if you come. We are try making efforts by mopping up with officers from National Government Administration Officers (NGAO). This is because once one gets minimal education, one would be able to manage him or herself, and be able to contribute in one way or another to the social economic development of this country. On NEMIS, I have noted a few problems that we have. In order to deal with this particular problem, and as I undertook earlier, we have formed a joint team comprising of my officers in the Ministry of Education and every State department. We are going to have a unified and an integrated system that is going to run from basic to tertiary level. That is Technical and Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) up to the university. We have a team comprising of experts in Information Communication Technology and officers from Konza. In a period of four months, we should be able to have a better system which would give proper data. We have had problems even in our universities where we give capitation based on something that is given to us manually. You can imagine the danger we find ourselves in because you can be given figures which are not right. We want to get it right, and we are working on this. The BoMs normally last for three years, renewable. Members play a key role, and at that level we do not interfere so much. Thera are District Education Boards that manage them. The effectiveness and efficiency of those boards determine the success of a school. If you can allow me, Hon. Temporary Speaker, I can answer the question on delocalisation by the Member for Mosop because it was in the Order Paper. I have the answer. I can give the figures and the kind of progress we have made. We have not been able to do 100 per cent as required. As things stand now, you know about the reversal of the delocalisation policy. It was approved. There is no question about it. We cannot now have a person being forced to be transferred from his home area to another area. The policy has been reversed. A total of 25,625 teachers have so far applied for transfer countrywide. Out of those, 4,448 are in secondary schools and 21,177 are in primary schools. A total of 22,345 teachers have been transferred; 3,264 in secondary school and also 19,081 in primary school. A total of 3,280 teachers; 1,184 in secondary schools and 2,096 in primary schools, have made applications that are pending. They have not been transferred because of the following reasons. First, if we transfer en masse, we can cause chaos in schools. There are schools where unless you have a replacement, there would be no teaching or learning. There have to be replacements for TSC to effect transfers. The requests are pending, waiting for replacements to be found. Also, there are quite a number of principals who have applied for transfer from one county to another. You find that in the county where they are applying to go, there is lack of vacancies in those positions. For now, we cannot give a transfer. With time, we will put into effect the transfers. As you can see, out of the 25,000 requests so far received, a good number has been transferred. 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"
}