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{
    "id": 365805,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/365805/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 100,
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    "content": "sat for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and transited from primary to secondary school, only about 60 were girls. That is a paltry third of those who left primary school. That is a big disparity. As per the statistics, boys and girls are equal at birth in terms of the gender ratio. So, we expect that the number of girls in schools should be equal to those of boys in Standard One, assuming that we take all of them to school. This is not happening. By the time they are finishing secondary school, the girls are very few. The other thing which is hampering the girl-child education is bad cultural practices and beliefs among communities. That is rampant in many parts of northern Kenya and other parts of this country. The Government should do something about it. It should give incentives, create awareness and sensitize the communities. The other factor that is hampering the girl-child education is high levels of poverty. Instead of taking the girl-child to school, by the time she attains the age of 15 years, she is forced to do menial jobs. Therefore, poverty, marginalization, insecurity and banditry are hampering the girl- child education and we need to deal with them. Girls are facing more challenges to enroll in school and remain in school in the whole of Kenya. That is very appalling. This Motion has come at the best time when we are moving towards the Millennium Development Goals in terms of education for all. This is not happening. In my constituency, for the last four years, no girl has transited from secondary to university. They might have transited from primary to secondary school but, not from secondary to university. The Government should establish, among other things, low cost boarding schools for girls, support the payment of school fees and uniforms. It should also support their families. If a small token is given to the girls’ families, then the families will not require the girls to work in order to support them. The Government should fast-track the establishment of a Nomadic Education Commission for the pastoralists whose girls face a lot of challenges. The amount of money that is given under the Free Primary Education Programme is not enough. It is about Kshs1,020 per child per year, which is not enough. Since 2003, it has not been revised. It has remained the same while inflation and the cost of living have gone up. This is not enough to buy reading and writing materials and other items that are necessary for learning. I second the Motion and urge the House to pass it, so that the Government can mobilize enough funds to construct more schools to boost the girl-child education."
}