HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 381413,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/381413/?format=api",
"text_counter": 244,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Government – and you are going to work for Kenya regardless of whether you are from Marsabit or Mandera, where you feel you are so marginalized. Madam Temporary Speaker, this is one thing that the western countries really took up seriously and, today, that is why you find that Americans are so patriotic for their nation because they come out of college to join their youth service before going on to the universities or, alternatively, they can join the youth service and decide to join the army. But I know there was a time there was a cry, and it was because of how, may be, we managed the institution; we felt that it was like a punishment when you take your child to NYS when they were joining university. But having looked at what has happened to date, I think we need to ask ourselves; are we willing to lose all our young people? Do we have a structure, knowing very well that in the 1980s, when the KANU Government was in power, we decided to bring alternatives to education? That is why we ended up having academies or private schools and public schools. At that time, you were given an alternative; if you have money, then you could take your child to a private school and, to date, that is why we are having challenges in the education sector. Education was one way of bringing merit to both the poor and the rich families; education was the only way through which we could reach a level where we can communicate, and you will never ask me of my background because we are on the same level. But now, we have gone to another level where now we still ask: “Did you go to a public or a private school? How was your school?” Therefore, you find that when you are growing up as a Kenyan child, you feel so marginalized. If, indeed, you came from a public school that is in Mandera or those places where they have no books and they have nothing; or where you are learning under trees like in Turkana--- But we are saying that if we have the NYS and we use the private partners that we have to engage in the same, that today, when you see the development or infrastructure that we are doing in this country like roads and dams, who would have been the first beneficiaries? It is these young people, because when they are in training at the NYS, they also have an opportunity to work for the Government and be paid like any other person who is working. If we talk about roads, we have the biggest project that is coming up now, the Lamu Port and South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport ( LAPSSET ) Corridor project, which I think is cutting across more than 15 to 20 counties, and what are we saying? If we had NYS training facilities all over our counties, all these young people would have been given the opportunity to work in that project as they continue with their training. In the process, they would also have earned a livelihood from the project. The money earned would have helped them in other ways. For example, if I now want to go to the university and, may be, my parents are not able to pay school fees; that is where I will get some school fees to pay for myself. Therefore, Madam Temporary Speaker, this is one thing that we need to ask ourselves; it is something that the country must look at. We should not just look at NYS, but we should also start looking at the 70 per cent population that we have today. Are we moving in the right direction in terms of where we want them to go? Are we in the right direction as a country? Are our young people growing up with values and respect that both parents deserve? Or, may be, is that the reason why we have young people raping their own mothers, sisters and even ganging up together against their own neighbours? The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}