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{
"id": 1380805,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1380805/?format=api",
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"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"
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"content": "Institute of Curriculum Development has reduced that following the recommendations that were done by the Presidential Working Party. We have rationalised learning areas to a maximum of five for pre-primary level. We have reduced them from nine to seven for lower primary level, from 12 to eight for upper primary level, from 14 to not more than nine for junior secondary school level, and from nine to not more than seven for senior secondary school level. As noted, the Government has taken proactive steps to ensure that Junior Secondary Schools have the required infrastructure by 2025, when we will have the inaugural Grade 9 class in Junior Secondary School. That is why I said earlier that in this financial year, we have allocated Ksh3.9 billion to construct 6,000 classrooms. A further Ksh9 billion will be provided by the World Bank to construct another 9,000 classrooms. Therefore, come next year, we will have the 15,021 classrooms required for Grade 9. We are properly prepared and operationalised in terms of teacher preparation, the curriculum, learning areas, re-tooling our teachers, textbooks, and the seven competence and skill areas. We will try to mitigate a few other challenges as they come. Hon. Temporary Speaker, if you allow me, I can answer the other Question on the title deeds and ownership documents for public schools before Members ask more questions. As we are all aware, the Government came up with a directive in 2015 that all public schools should be titled. Consequently, a multi-sectoral technical working group consisting of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Lands, the National Land Commission (NLC), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), together with the civil society and other stakeholders under the umbrella of the “Shule Yangu Alliance”, was earmarked to spearhead the process of titling public schools. Currently, there are 20,273 schools that have been audited for titling. There are 12,081 schools that are pending audits for titling. There are 11,974 schools that have so far been issued with title deeds. There are 1,423 schools with title disputes because of land encroachment. We have also established that there are 4,100 schools facing the risk of encroachment and land grabbing and we have their names. We have created awareness and sensitisation among community members and the local leadership to ensure that school land is not interfered with. As much as there are financial challenges, we have instructed school heads that where possible, school land should be fenced off and clear beacons installed to keep off land grabbers. We also hope to get the assistance of the local administration and leadership to stop any such encroachment. This is an ongoing process. Even though we sometimes face a few challenges as we try to accomplish this exercise, especially on funding, we are focused and determined to do it. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
}