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{
"id": 219890,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/219890/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Olweny",
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"speaker": {
"id": 122,
"legal_name": "Patrick Ayiecho Olweny",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is what I know. The point I am trying to drive at is that the number of students that are admitted to some of these universities will be pegged on the teaching facilities available. I am just giving a live example I know of. The universities admit very few students. That affects particularly students from the marginalised areas, who end up getting poor grades. That is because they do not have good teaching facilities in their schools as compared to other places where we have academies. May 23, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1557 Nairobi has some of the most wonderful schools. Mombasa Town has some of the most wonderful schools. So, students who go to those schools end up with better grades than students from, say, Garissa, whose schools have poor teaching facilities. Students from Garissa cannot be compared with students in areas where schools have better quality teaching facilities. That is what I am trying to put across. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, therefore, we need to address the problems that students from marginalised areas are facing, in terms of the quality of education they get. It is the quality of education that they get in schools which will land them in university, or fail to land them in university. I am sure that more often than not, they end up with the minimum admission qualification of C+ (plus) when they sit the national examination. With the minimum admission qualification, if we had universities in those areas, such students would have a chance of getting admission into the universities. So, the Government needs to address the problem of inadequate space in the universities, that of lack of facilities in the universities, with particular focus to the marginalised areas, where we need to create more university space by establishing universities in those areas or, at least, some kind of colleges. If that is done, it will create opportunities for Kenyans in those areas to be exposed to the learning institutions. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the reasons as to why many Kenyans, particularly those in the marginalised areas, have problems in getting university education is the cost of learning. Even if one is admitted to the University of Nairobi, Nairobi is a very expensive city to live in. If one does not get accommodation in the university which is itself very expensive, then one opts to look for alternative accommodation. You will note that the cost of living in the city of Nairobi is very expensive for students particularly those who come from poor backgrounds. Definitely those from marginalised areas do not come from rich backgrounds. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in order to address this problem we should create more universities in these marginalised areas because accommodation will be cheaper for the students who come from there. The cost of living in some of these towns is not as expensive as it is in Nairobi. That would lower the cost of education for some of these students. If we take that approach then we will create more opportunities for students to get university education. The Government needs to address the issue of tuition because of learning. The Government needs to avail more bursary and scholarships particularly for students from marginalised areas so that they have an opportunity of getting university education. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Government should create more space in our universities, particularly by taking the approach of increasing opportunities for day scholars in our public universities. If this is done in universities, then we will have an opportunity for more Kenyans, not only in the marginal areas, but in other areas where we have a large number of dropouts from regular education because of lack of enough space. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}