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"content": "consultations, it was found necessary to review the term dates in order to give teachers more time for syllabus coverage and make schools more child-friendly. Furthermore, this was also to give parents time to bond with their children. The current circular specifies term dates as follows: The current circular specifies that the first term was scheduled to start on Tuesday, 3rd January, 2012 and end on Friday, 13th April, 2012, giving a 15 calendar week term. The second term was scheduled to begin on 7th May, 2012 and end on Friday, 10th August, 2012, giving a term of 14 calendar weeks. The third term is scheduled to commence on 3rd September, 2012, and will end on Friday, 2nd November, 2012, giving a nine calendar week term and a 38 calendar-week academic year. I will be tabling the circular shortly. Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to emphasise that the Ministry has never endorsed, and will never endorse; a policy on extra tuition as a way of covering the syllabus. The Ministry has developed clear circulars discontinuing this action. One of them is the circular dated 18th August, 2008 and signed by former Permanent Secretary (PS), Prof. Karega Mutahi, and a Press Release by myself, dated 15th August, 2012. I will also table the docents shortly. There is also the Report of the Task Force on Students Discipline and Unrest in Secondary Schools, chaired by the then Director of Education. I will also be tabling it. This policy is merely a complimentary item to the 2003 Section 15 of the Code of Conduct of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which prohibits payment of remedial tuition or extra tuition. I will also table that Code of Conduct. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it has been observed that, as a result of pressure on some parents and some school managements, tuition has been assumed to be part and parcel of the curriculum delivery process. Extra tuition has ceased to be remedial and has turned into a commercial enterprise through which some of the school managements earn extra income which is not accounted for. This practice is contrary to the objective of the Free Primary Education (FPE) and Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) programmes, introduced by the Government in order to enhance access, equity and quality at all levels of education. This practice is overburdening the poor. Furthermore, Article 53 of the Constitution guarantees specific rights to the child, which society and all educational institutions should uphold. I want to point out the provisions of Article 53(2) of the Constitution, which makes it clear as follows:- “53(2) a child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.” Mr. Speaker, Sir, that is why students are expected to rest during holidays and report to school with more vigour to learn. Playing and non-academic pursuits are just as important in learning as formal classroom activities. Their absence hampers the development of critical thinking and problem solving, not to mention undermining family values. It is important that the objectives of the FPE and FDSE programmes are not violated by introducing parallel fee structures. Scholars, who are well versed in psychiatry, have pointed out that inadequate rest causes physical and psychological stress, which is not only detrimental to learning but also increases the risk of mental disorders such as anxiety, depression and other disorders. As I will demonstrate when I table even the Parliamentary Reports, this has indeed been found, even by national leaders, to be the case."
}