HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 211213,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/211213/?format=api",
"text_counter": 283,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Githae",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Transport",
"speaker": {
"id": 159,
"legal_name": "Robinson Njeru Githae",
"slug": "robinson-githae"
},
"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion that has been introduced by my friend and neighbour, Mr. Karaba. I think everybody can agree that this is a 2906 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 1, 2007 very important Motion in the sense that we have many dropouts. We have pupils dropping out from Standard VIII. Instead of joining form one, they just stop at Standard VIII. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in this House, we talk about the protection of the girl- child. In my constituency, the problem is completely different. Our problem is not the girl-child. That is because we have more girls than boys in primary and secondary schools in my constituency. Our problem is the boy-child. Our boys are leaving school at Standard VI. Most of them leave school as soon as they are circumcised. They say that they are now adults and want to get married. So, we have a major problem. We have tried to address that issue. We have talked to the churches to sensitize their congregations that parents should not circumcise their boys when they are in primary schools. They can circumcise them during the holidays in December after they have sat for their Standard VIII examinations. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, whereas we commend the Government for the its efforts, the future of this country, as far as education is concerned, lies in day schools. We must start more day schools. For example, in my constituency, through the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) money, we have put up a secondary school in every primary school. These are day schools and they charge a maximum of Kshs8,000 a year. If you divide Kshs8,000 by 12 months, you will realise that the students pay about Kshs800 a month. Even the lowest paid person in my constituency earns about Kshs3,000 a month. These are mostly the casual labourers who are paid Kshs100 a day. That means that with day schools, it is possible for each and every person who wants to educate their children to do so. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have also observed a trend whereby secondary schools are now imposing what they call lunch fees. The result of this is just to increase the fees. So, in my view, the future of education in Kenya is day schools. Boarding schools are very expensive because the items required to maintain children there are very expensive. You will find that whereas the Government pays something for the tuition fees, the total amount of fees in a secondary school is Kshs25,000. They are now adding what they call \"boarding fees\", \"lunch fees\", \"dormitory fees\", \"bus fees\" and so on. If you add all that, it comes to almost Kshs50,000 a year. Kenyans cannot afford this amount of money. So, we need to go the day school route. That is the route. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do not even know how the concept of boarding schools came about in this country. If you go to the USA and the UK, students go to primary schools as day scholars. They leave home in the morning and by 3.00 p.m., they are back home. This gives parents an opportunity to learn about their children, stay with them and even to observe them. Parents will be able to know whether their sons and daughters have started using drugs or taking alcohol. When the children are in boarding schools, this is not possible. Parents get a rude shock when their sons and daughters are sent away from school after they are caught with drugs or alcohol. You can really see the shock on the parents' faces, which means that they do not know their children well. Whereas this Education Levy Fund amounts to an increase in taxation, other ways of funding education must be found. At the moment, we have a shortage of more than 60,000 teachers both in primary schools and tertiary educational institutions. This year, the Government will be employing only 11,000 teachers. This is a drop in the ocean. However, as the interviews are being conducted, I have seen a very dangerous system that is being used. If you do not come from that particular district, you cannot be employed! A Kenyan is a Kenyan, and he or she should be able to get employment in any part of the country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if you say that one can only be employed in the district he or she comes from, what about the people in my constituency who teach there and yet, they do not come from there? Should we then chase them away, or what will happen? I think the August 1, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2907 system needs to be changed. We should go by the system of using the year of graduation. Those who graduated earlier, should be the first ones to be employed. Those who are graduating now, can wait for their turn. However, insisting that only teachers who come from a district should be employed in that district, is dangerous. It also encourages tribalism. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other issue that has come out from this Motion is the retention of certificates by head teachers of secondary schools. In my constituency, over 20,000 certificates are being held by various secondary schools. Even if we establish the Education Levy Fund, unless we deal with the problem of retention of certificates, it will not help much. Without the certificates, the students cannot get jobs. Without jobs, they cannot pay the school fees balances. Therefore, we need to do something about the retention of certificates by schools. We should, probably, say that three or four years, after graduation, if a student has not collected a certificate, it should be released to him free of charge. If one can wait for more than three years before he or she gets his or her certificate, it really means they are unable to pay. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, concerning the quality of education, school inspectors need to be funded. Whenever they ask for meetings, they approach us as hon. Members of Parliament to sponsor them. Now, you wonder how you would sponsor meetings of school inspectors and quality assurance officers. I think one way in which the Education Levy Fund can be used is to fund the meetings and seminars that are normally held for head teachers and heads of departments. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have the issue of school buses. School buses are very popular among the students. There seems to be a competition among schools to buy the most expensive bus and with the largest capacity. These only burdens parents even more. One way in which this Education Levy Fund can be used is to purchase buses for all secondary schools, so that parents are not burdened. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we also need to find a way of equipping laboratories. We have used the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) to put up many laboratories, but equipping them is taking a bit of time. We need to give pupils equal chances, so that they can compete with students in schools like Alliance High School and Mangu High School. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}