Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 222580,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/222580/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 158,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kipchumba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 313,
        "legal_name": "Joseph Kipchumba Lagat",
        "slug": "joseph-lagat"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is, therefore, high time that we passed this Motion. We need not spend a lot of time debating this Motion. I think that Mr. Oloo-Aringo should be called upon to reply because we are all in agreement that we need free primary education. Nobody should use this for political reasons. Every Presidential candidate now is talking of free primary education. Of course, some of them even do not know where the money will come from. Everybody is promising Kenyans free education and free everything. Ultimately, the people who are at the top bracket of income earners in the society are going to bear the brunt. It is a shame to have free education and yet classrooms are crowded, say, 60 pupils in one classroom. That is the 1186 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 9, 2007 biggest challenge. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was asking someone the other day why we should talk of free tuition when there are not enough teachers in our schools. Which one comes first? As far as I am concerned, we must first recruit more teachers in all the schools so that we can talk of other free things. We cannot accept, as a country, that one teacher teaches 60 children in a classroom and pretend that we do not see that weakness. Right now there is a shortage of over 60,000 teachers. We have turned a blind eye to that fact to the extent that nobody, not even in the next Budget, will factor in the employment of more teachers. All we are doing now is just replacing those who have died or retired. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as much as we praise the Ministry of Education, in my view, this Ministry has got all its priorities wrong. The Minister for Education must get dedicated and professional staff so that they can serve this country well. The Ministry needs to ensure that we, first, have adequate teachers. We now have classrooms. People must now refocus on how they are going to build the extra classes which are required in their respective constituencies. Therefore, the Ministry of Education must remove the Development Vote so that it only deals with Recurrent Expenditure. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to support."
}