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{
    "id": 398684,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/398684/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 244,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Macharia",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2367,
        "legal_name": "Jacob Waweru Macharia",
        "slug": "jacob-waweru-macharia"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion by hon. Abdullahi Mohamed Diriye. Having worked as a publisher and in the schools during the time when the free primary education started in this country, honestly, I thank the Government of the former President that started this. For the first time in Kenya, pupils got an opportunity to go to school as a result of which we saw the likes of the late Kimani Maruge, may God rest his soul in eternal peace, having a chance to go to schools and many others in this country. For the first time also, we saw the parents being involved in what we popularly call the School Instructional Material Selection Committees where they were involved in selecting what books are going to be used in these schools. This was the first one. As publishers, we would present to these schools and they would select from a group of publishers books that were mainly approved by the Ministry of Education. However, as much as I support this Motion and in as much as the gains have been much, as I have put them, I would like to say that at a certain point in this programme, the rain started beating us. As hon. Abdullahi Mohammed Diriye rightfully puts it, this amount of money, Kshs1,020 is not enough. It is what started this programme ten years ago. Today is 2013. We know even that the cost of a HP pencil used to be Kshs1. Today it is Kshs2.50 but we still give the schools this money hoping that they will be able to continue with the Free Primary Education (FPE). Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I know the argument that probably could have been advanced by some of the Government agents is that some of the books are supposed to be used and passed between classes but those of us who have been teachers know and indeed clearly that books, especially at the primary level last a year and if somebody is lucky, they can last for two especially books for classes one, two and three – that is lower primary school. They hardly even last for a year. So, I support that this money should be actually raised to even more than Kshs3,060. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the other hand, I would also like to point to the fact that this FPE money has also been misused. As much as we would like to increase this amount, I am aware as a key player in that industry that at certain points, school principals or school head teachers in collaboration with book sellers and other key players, have embezzled money belonging to schools. We had started seeing, during the roll out of this FPE, head teachers moving around with black book orders and telling book sellers: “Niambie utanipatia nini nikupatie hii order?” In English it is: “Tell me how much money you will give me and then I give you this order?” They have stopped teaching to go and solicit for the highest percentage on the amount of money that has been allocated. They are roaming in towns from bookseller to bookseller. Some of them The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}