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{
    "id": 1439719,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1439719/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 147,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dagoretti North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Beatrice Elachi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "work for our country. We have them in the Public Service. I support the Public Service Internship Bill. One of the things that Hon. Naisula has brough up in this Bill is that we have to help our young people to understand the objectives of the Bill. The Bill preserves human dignity as set out in Article 19 of the Constitution. It enhances youth development and employability by creating clear linkages between their education, training and work. I was once an intern of Professor Wanjiku Kabira. I remember I was with Daisy. At that time, we were interns in a civic education programme. The way Professor mentored us was very tough. I want to tell young people that there is no internship that will be simple. There is no internship that comes on a silver platter. If they want it easy, then they will not get employed. Also, they should always remember that in the laws of employment, there is probation. For our interns in the Junior Secondary Schools – and I do not know whether they understand - there is probation for six months and the employer has a right to employ or not to employ them after the probation. Sometimes, we talk here and politicise these things. We forget that those are people who are going to mentor and teach the future leaders of our country. So, we have to be very clear as leaders and parents that you cannot... They should read their letters of internship. What did they agree with the employer? So, when the time comes, they should not use it in a political way. They should remember they were not in a mob when they were employed. They were employed as individuals. They came alone for the interviews and they were given the internships alone. So, let us not make it very political until we destroy the whole structure. This is a new foundation for our children and the future of Kenya. The other thing that Hon. Naisula Lesuuda has proposed in the Bill is that the Public Service should ensure a well-structured and coordinated internship programme. I agree with Hon. Baya that where we go wrong is when we decide that an intern who is supposed to do 25 per cent of the job does 100 per cent. That is where we have gone wrong with this structure of the JSS teachers. They now believe they have worked as teachers. I will not be ashamed to talk about it. I went to my school – and I will not disclose the name - and I met young interns and teachers who have been there for a while. When I looked at their staff room, I felt like crying. They had just finished taking tea and everything, including eggs, was on the table and they were just seated there. If you do that as a teacher, what will the students do? So, being a good teacher starts with ethics and morals. I also want to alert teachers that we are in the era of digital platforms. I went to a school in Mombasa and a teacher in one class was teaching three other classrooms using a digital platform. So, teachers should awaken themselves. Because of technology, we will reach a point where we will not want to see our students crying every day that they have no TSC teachers. We shall improvise and find a way of teaching children and the teachers will be the losers. I believe that if I had never gone to school and met my English teacher, Mr Masheti, I would not be who I am today. So, I am proud when I meet my teachers and lecturers. However, when I look at our children, I wonder whether they will embrace their teachers. I want to tell the teachers that I have my girl who comes home and says: “Miss said this!” I usually ask her who is “Miss” and her response is that teacher told them to call her Miss. This is why students miss all those things. They have now realised that a teacher is just a “Miss”. The values we had in terms of good foundation and who brings one up are eroding. We are now rolling back. We will have challenges in how we serve our own people. Teaching is a calling just like other professions are a calling. However, sometimes, the work that the teachers do is beyond measurability. Nobody can pay them. However, if they can mould a child and they come to Bunge like us, to become who we are today, then I believe there are good teachers that we must be proud of and we must celebrate them. Interns must understand that there is a role that teachers play. Everywhere people are employed, there is a six months’ probation 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."
}