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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to contribute on this very important Motion. I stand to support Vote 31. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to start by congratulating the Minister and his officers for a well-run Ministry. The Ministry of Education is one of the best examples of good governance in this country. This Ministry has contributed a lot in the positive improvement we are seeing in the management of public affairs in this country. I would like to highlight three or four issues that have been received very well by the Kenyan public as far as this Ministry is concerned. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, first of all, is the way the Ministry has managed the Free Primary Education Programme (FPEP). The way it has addressed the challenges of FPEP is commendable. There is a tremendous increment in enrolment of pupils in primary schools throughout the country. This is because of the good management by Ministry officials as far as the FPEP is concerned. This has resulted in an increment in the transition rate from primary to secondary schools. It stands at 60 per cent. I think this is a very positive element that we should all commend and support. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, although teachers are still not enough in our schools, the process employed in their recruitment has been very transparent and competitive. They are employed at district level through the District Education Boards (DEBs). They also advertise vacancies in our daily newspapers. This makes the process both transparent and competitive. I would encourage the Ministry to continue with that attitude as far as the management of recruitment of teachers is concerned. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of bursaries at secondary level is also transparent. The mode of award and the way it is offered are transparent. I believe that this has gone a long way in helping our bright students from poor families to access education. This has actually contributed to affordable secondary education to many students in this country. These are some of the achievements of this Ministry. We have also seen some assistance to the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) both in secondary and primary schools. This is both in equipping and building infrastructures in marginalised areas. This Ministry has assisted these regions more than any other Ministry. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in moving his Vote, the Minister said that they have earmarked Kshs279 million for the ASAL in this financial year. Those of use who come from those areas appreciate this very positive gesture. We are seeing improvement and the assistance from the Ministry. I would kindly request other Ministries to give special attention to marginalised areas, the way the Ministry of Education is doing. July 17, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2535 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to commend this Ministry for the way it has honoured the teachers agreement on pay. The previous regime was not able to honour it. However, this Government has successfully honoured the increment. This time round, they are paying the final phase. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are some areas that still need some improvement in the Ministry. First of all, we have accepted the creation of new districts. I would kindly ask the Ministry to speed up operation of education offices in the new districts and make them independent from the mother districts, if I may say so. All the officers required in the new districts, as far as education is concerned, should be provided by the Ministry. This can be done by posting District Education Officers (DEOs) to all the new districts. The DEOs come along with so many positive things. For instance, the registration of new schools should not be done at the mother district. On the ongoing recruitment of teachers that has been given to the DEBs, it is good that we have the offices in the new districts operational and officers on the ground. By so doing, the new districts can take advantage of the goodwill of this Government and start recruiting teachers. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a lot has been said on making secondary education affordable or free. However, I would like to urge the Ministry to be firm on controlling other levies that principals and heads of schools may initiate. These could be initiated in the name of development levies, activity fees and others. If these are allowed, at the end of the day, there would be no difference. In other words, parents would still be paying what they are supposed to pay. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of admission to teacher training colleges is very fundamental. Right now, the qualification to be admitted to a teacher training college is mean Grade C in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). The method adopted by the Ministry is not compatible with what is happening on the ground. They are now admitting students through the computer system. You may even fail to get anyone joining a teacher training college in a district just because the computer picked the first students who could be having Grades \"As\" or \"Bs\". This denies those from marginalised areas, who struggle to get Grade C, the chance for admission to teacher training colleges. I would like to urge the Ministry to be very firm on this and give a specific quota to each and every district. They should not look for students with higher grades from other districts to take the quota meant for other districts. By using the computer system, you may even get 90 per cent of students in teacher training colleges coming from only one district or region. You will find that students from marginalised areas would opt to apply for the position of chiefs. Nowadays, to be taken for an interview to become a chief, you must have a Grade C. I think it is good that the quota system is retained. The admission requirement for a student to join a teacher training college should be Grade C and each district must have its quota. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I heard of the Ministry's proposal of merging schools with less than 100 pupils. However, I do not think that this is tenable on the ground because they must consider the issue of distance. In some areas, the distance from one school to another could even be over 40 kilometres. Therefore, if we, as a Ministry, say that we merge schools that have less than 100 pupils, we will disadvantage some pupils. Secondly, there is also the issue of population. Some areas may be sparsely populated. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) has been used to build new schools in areas that are sparsely populated. Therefore, before the Ministry implements the proposal to merge schools, they need to take into consideration the negative effects of that move. Finally, students at universities studying under the parallel degree programmes are not eligible to access loans from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). I think it is the right time that the Ministry takes cognisance of the fact that the students joined the parallel degree programme as a result of limited facilities, especially accommodation. I would want to see a situation whereby once a student qualifies to join the university; whether in regular or parallel 2536 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 17, 2007 programme, he is given an equal opportunity to access loans from HELB. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to support."
}