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{
    "id": 1563858,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1563858/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 266,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Methu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13581,
        "legal_name": "Methu John Muhia",
        "slug": "methu-john-muhia"
    },
    "content": "The definition of basic education, according to the Basic Education Act, is education in primary school and education in secondary school. So, it is timely that we speak about this question. Unfortunately, when we speak about this, some people say that we are against bursaries yet none of us is against bursaries. What we want is access to education for all Kenyans I will speak about two critical things. A child from Mandera has the same rights as a child from Nyandarua. A child from Bomet has the same rights as a child from Migori. So, if a child from Mandera is getting Kshs20,000 for bursaries, then a child from Migori should also get that amount of money but that is not possible when we use the current formation as it is. This is because MPs and governors have bursaries. It is important to note that some constituencies have fewer learners than other constituencies yet the disbursement via NG-CDF, is almost the same. The 75 per cent of the money disbursed by NG-CDF is the same for all constituencies. Imagine, one constituency has 16,000 learners and the other one has 2,000 learners and 40 per cent of all the monies given for NG-CDF are for bursaries. That is the first inequality. I support the third recommendation that has been made by Sen. Thang’wa. If we try to amalgamate all these funds, why can we not first determine how much one child requires to access free education? There is no justification for spending Kshs11.6 billion in NG-CDF money and another Kshs14 billion allocated by governors, and we do not know the cost of ensuring a child receives free education. We are not opposed to bursaries. However, if we were to compare free education to bursaries, free education is what will ultimately provide the equality we are looking for. Finally, bursaries are being used as political tools. There is tokenism; if you are my supporter, I give you bursaries. What about the children of poor parents who cannot access their Members of Parliament (MP)? What about the children who require certification from their chief, yet their father does not agree with the chief? Why do we place our children at the mercy of others just so they can access education? It is on this basis that I fully support this Motion. We must determine the exact cost of educating per child. The late President Mwai Kibaki was bold enough to grant us free primary education. President William Ruto promised free secondary education. It is now his time to fulfill that promise and extend it to secondary and tertiary education because education is a right. I did not write this Constitution, nor did I include Articles 43, 53 and 55, which clearly state that every child is entitled to free basic education. It must be---"
}