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{
    "id": 218244,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/218244/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 176,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Shaban",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 139,
        "legal_name": "Naomi Namsi Shaban",
        "slug": "naomi-shaban"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to reply. I wish to thank all my colleagues who have contributed very actively and they have raised important issues concerning education in Kenya. It is pretty obvious that we are talking about the capacity of universities. What is important to note is that the capacity of the existing universities is only 11,000 students and the people who are qualified are well over 60,000. We can see that if the Government was to give any funds to the University of Nairobi today, certainly, you would not even know where to develop the university because there is no land available for that. So, it is very important for other universities to be established and I believe that this Motion states where the universities should be developed. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is also important for people to know that we cannot eradicate poverty if our children are not able to access education properly. If anybody wants to kill the marginalised areas completely, you have to deny them education. We need those national schools in Coast Province and North Eastern Province because that is the only way we can stimulate those children to want to go to school properly. The few national schools which are available in the country do not have enough capacity for all the children who are qualified to go to those schools. So, it is very important for the Government to move very fast and make sure that the national schools are re-established. Shimo La Tewa used to be a national school. I do not know what happened along the way but something must be done about it so that it can go back to its rightful position. At the time when it was a national school, we had children accessing it from all over the country, especially from Coast Province where the children felt they needed to make it to that particular school. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I know that some years back, there were some conditionalities from the World Bank and the IMF. In those conditionalities, it was stated that universities should not be given so much budgetary support by the Government. What is quite surprising is that they never really said that new universities should not be developed. Even now when our budget is not supported by the World Bank any more, it is possible for the Government to commit funds to develop these universities. I know the Government is on its way to establishing a university at the Coast, but just having constituent colleges is not enough. I believe that there are big chunks of farmlands in Coast Province. The Government can acquire that land compulsorily to be able to put up a proper 1760 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES June 13, 2007 university so that those children who are very poor can be accommodated in those universities. I want to re-affirm that it is very important for these national schools to be developed very fast. It is pretty obvious that we need those universities in those areas. With those few remarks, I beg to move."
}