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"speaker_name": "Mr. Musila",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of FPE Programme has been talked about. We all thank the Government for it. We welcome the waiver of secondary school tuition fees from 2008. I want to remind the Minister, through you, that in a Sessional Paper that he brought to this House and which was passed, it was stated and agreed that pre-primary education would be supported by the Government as well. Somehow, this matter seems to have been left in abeyance. The Pre-Primary Education Programme, as the experts know, and most of them are here, is the foundation of education. We cannot have quality education in both primary and secondary schools unless we form a good foundation, which is pre-primary education. These schools are run by parents and their standards differ. I would like to ask the Minister to ensure that if the FPE Programme and secondary education will have any meaning, we must start with the foundation. We must also ensure that pre-primary schools are given priority and supported by the Government all over the country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me take this opportunity to commend the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for the work they are doing in managing teachers. Yes, they have a shortage of teachers, but I want to say that the shortage of teachers has continued to negatively affect the quality of education, as previous speakers have said. We have primary school classes with 150 to 200 pupils, with one teacher! There is no way--- Forty years ago, I used to teach! I cannot imagine how a teacher can teach 100 children. Therefore, while agreeing that the Government is going to employ 11,000 teachers, that is a drop in the ocean. The Minister must do everything possible to look for funds to increase the number of teachers, so that we can improve the quality of education in our country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to give an example of my own Mwingi 2624 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 18, 2007 District. It has a shortage of over 700 teachers. The TSC has allocated us 151 teachers. I am sure by the time the 151 teachers are recruited, others would have either died or retired. So, that shortage is going to persist and there is no way we are going to improve learning in our institutions. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, even for secondary education, the situation is the same. We have a shortage of over 100 teachers in our secondary schools and yet, we were asked to recruit 36. How can we go on with that kind of thing? I want to ask the Minister to look into that matter critically, and ensure that some equitable filling of vacancies is done. I do not see how a shortage of 700 vacancies was only allocated 151 slots. I do not expect that is going to make any dent in the shortage. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other area is on the intake in teacher training colleges. I know that in the last two years, the Ministry has tried to ensure that all districts are given equal opportunities in teachers training colleges. But I still find that there are some districts which are getting more vacancies. I want to suggest to the Minister, through you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, that the intake to colleges, both for primary and secondary teachers training, must be pegged to existing vacancies of teachers. If, for example, we have a shortage of 800 teachers in our district, our allocation of teacher training positions must be pegged to the vacancies so that, in the end, our areas will have adequate teachers. That will avoid a situation where some districts are being forced to recruit teachers from other districts, not because they do not have people who are qualified to go to teachers training colleges, but because some district over-train while others are not given equal opportunities. This is a matter that should be given a very serious thought. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other issue is on the quality of education and inspection of schools. I want to tell the Minister - and I want his officers to hear - that in my district, there are schools which have never seen an inspector coming to inspect them. Why is that? Is it because they are very few? It is because there are hardly one or two to inspect hundreds of primary schools and yet, we expect those schools to do well! I always feel very bad when, at the end of examination time, the Minister receives the results and announces that this district was number one, another was number two; this school was number one, that school was number two and another one was number three! At the end, the Minister cannot say how many teachers were in the school that became number one. How many teachers were in the school that became last. If the announcement of the results, which appears to be a competition by the Minister, is to have any meaning, then he must ensure that schools are inspected alike. They are provided with teachers alike. That is only when there will be fair competition. Finally, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister and the Government has done well to increase salaries of teachers. Once again, I would like to remind the Minister, through you, that this House passed the Pensions Amendment Bill several years ago. The Bill, which I had the honour to sponsor, guaranteed that when civil servants, including teachers retire, they will go home with their pension cheques. But I am sorry to say that the mainstream Public Service has not complied with that requirement of the law. But since we are addressing the matter of teachers and the Ministry of Education, let me also say that the TSC is, again, not following the law when it comes to giving teachers their pensions on retirement. I say that because the law also requires that where pension is not paid, those people must be given interest on the money retained by the Ministry or the Government at bank rates. That law has been ignored. I want to urge the Minister for Education to provide an example and ensure that all teachers who retire, in accordance with the law, receive their pensions before they retire. The law says that where the pension is not ready, the employee should be retained in the payroll until a time when the pension will be ready."
}