HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 185140,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/185140/?format=api",
"text_counter": 162,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Bahari",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 156,
"legal_name": "Abdul Bahari Ali Jillo",
"slug": "bahari-ali-jillo"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this 2588 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 8, 2008 opportunity to support this Vote. I want to join my colleagues in congratulating this Ministry in the manner in which it has handled its affairs. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to commit myself that the officers in this Ministry are accessible and they respond when issues are brought to them at all the levels. I want to ask them to keep on doing so because if they stop, then this country is going to come to a standstill. It is incumbent upon them to continue improving their role in this country. I also want to thank the Minister for the way he has steered the Ministry forward for the period he has been there. I would like to start by talking about the issue of shortage of teachers, particularly in the Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) areas. Many a time, in this House, we have heard that the schemes of service are produced by the Directorate of Personnel Management (DPM). They have ended up marginalising the ASAL areas, particularly northern Kenya. That is happening just because we do not have a pool of manpower which is qualified to fit in the description that the DPM has set up in terms of the scheme of service. So, you can see the relationship between what the Ministry does and the job market. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think there is need for a very serious debate to be initiated by this Ministry, particularly on the issue of qualifications for admission into Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs). I know that there has been an argument whether we should or not start with those who are qualified so that we can turn around performance in our primary and secondary schools. However, I think we are missing the point when we exclude a whole province or region just on that basis. Ultimately, the excluded regions will not produce candidates who are admissible into our TTCs! So, there is need to review this matter. The critical thing, in the first place, is to make that qualified manpower available. It is the responsibility of the Ministry to ensure that quality manpower admissible into our TTCs is available. In all fairness, you cannot insist that you must have these qualifications in order to come here and then at the end of the day you exclude an entire region. In fact, it borders on criminality as far as I am concerned in terms of how we address matters that affect the people of this country. Perhaps, related to that, I am happy that the Ministry has embarked on an exercise of e- learning. Maybe the physical availability of teachers can be sorted out through e-learning. I hope they will now give preference to the ASAL areas where we have shortage of teachers. I can assure you that in some of our schools, children just play around. You cannot expect them to enforce discipline in that kind of situation. You cannot expect those who are playing around in the compound to perform like others because there is nobody to occupy them. They sit the same set of examinations. This is a very fundamental matter and we must get to the root cause of this problem. We should address it at that level so that every Kenyan is afforded equal opportunity. When it comes to e-learning, I hope that instead of starting from the centre, we will start from the periphery so that those areas are given preference with a view to addressing the issue of lack of materials and the shortage of teachers. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, also related to that is the issue of inspection. You cannot ensure that there is curriculum delivery when there is nobody to supervise that. Fine, at the level of headteachers and the like, they could be enough. However, even after the recruitment of school inspectors, there is still inadequate supply of those officers, particularly in the arid northern Kenya. Even with the Free Primary School Education Programme, where is the audit? You have only one auditor to cover a large area! How many books is that person going to audit for all those primary schools? I know the Ministry could be in the process of addressing these things, but these are matters which are very critical. Funds have been released and it is absolutely necessary and, in fact, a requirement for the Ministry to do whatever it takes to ensure that those funds are utilised properly and that appropriate and timely audits are carried out. If they will be able to do that, I hope nobody from other quarters will be telling them that it is too expensive to employ auditors. If they fail to audit the usage of those funds, it will be extremely expensive for them. October 8, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2589 In most of these remote areas, the officers are not properly facilitated in terms of reliable motor vehicles. The only vehicle that I have in Garbatulla District is already broken down. I have to give the DEO a lift every now and then for him to reach some of the schools. It is an urgent matter. If a DEO cannot move, how do you expect that Ministry to function? There is only one vehicle there! Matters of this nature need to be addressed so that we do not end up condemning innocent Kenyans by saying that they are always at the bottom. It is not their fault that they are at the bottom. It is us who are responsible and we must address this matter effectively. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, examination standards are very key. We have had problems at the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC). The Ministry has tried to address those problems. That is one thing that can bring this country to a stand still. A lot of manpower has left this country and found employment in other countries because there are no boundaries when it comes to persons with skills. However, when there is negligence in the KNEC, then that whole system is undermined and doubts begin to be cast on the kind of certificates that we award. It is a very serious matter. You can now see how sensitive and fundamental this Ministry is. That is why all the professors and all hardworking officers in this Ministry need to do extra homework so that we get what is required of them. It is the same reason why capable persons have been deployed to this Ministry. Therefore, we do not expect mere perception from them. This Ministry is so central. It is just like a patient being taken to a surgeon. The operation has to come through right otherwise it is a very sensitive matter. So, the same is true for this Ministry. It is important that it is given the attention that it deserves. As Parliament, we have always given support to this Ministry and I am sure hon. Members are ready to extend the same whenever that request is made to this House. You must have read in the media about ranking of our universities. It is an extremely important issue. That matter should not be taken just like any other report. We did very poorly. I hope that report is reliable. If that is not the case, nobody has come out to deny that, perhaps, we rank too low. In fact, it was only the University of Nairobi which appeared somewhere close to where it is supposed to be. Other universities did not appear anywhere on the list. We do not intend to have universities just for the sake of it. They are mushrooming all around us. The Commission for Higher Education must do what is required of it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}