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{
    "id": 1567631,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1567631/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 113,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mwaruma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13223,
        "legal_name": "Johnes Mwashushe Mwaruma",
        "slug": "johnes-mwashushe-mwaruma"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity to comment on the Statement by the Senator for Wajir on implementation of ECDE centres in Wajir County. Problems that are being faced by Wajir are not unique to that county alone, but are replicated across the whole country. Right now, we are doing an inquiry on the level of implementation of ECDE centres, Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) and libraries, which are devolved. Preliminary findings are that our ECDE centres and VTCs, which are devolved, are suffering. They are in deplorable conditions because governors have elected to leave out functions that are devolved. They are embracing functions that are not devolved by giving scholarships and bursaries. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you have heard the Senator for Kakamega saying, there are many incomplete ECDE projects because there is a lot of money being allocated by governors to the popular bursaries and scholarships. I am not saying that governors or county governments should not give bursaries and scholarships. Article 187 of the Constitution is very clear, that we must do deed of agreements between the national and county governments before the national Government takes over functions of county governments. Even as county governments are doing that or wanting to transfer devolved functions, have they done enough for ECDE centres? We have visited counties and seen Pre-Primary 1 (PP1) learners facing one wall while PP2 learners facing the other. That is not an ideal situation of learning. As an educationist, when we construct our ECDE centres, we must provide for playing areas for learners because children learn by playing. When you build a classroom and there is no playing area, how are those children going to learn? Our curriculums in East Africa are spiral; where you learn one thing at an ECDE centre, but when you go up, the concept is built. A good example is a seesaw. You can see it as an enjoyable game, but that is physics. When you go to secondary school, you learn about moments. When you go to university, you learn about torque or turning effect of two coplanar forces, which are in different directions. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we need to insist that county governments should do what is devolved and leave what is not devolved to the national Government. After all, only 15 per cent goes to the counties while 85 per cent remains at the national level."
}