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{
    "id": 400902,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/400902/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 202,
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    "content": "It is impossible and impractical for anybody to purport that this is national wealth because it must also have local advantage. You can, therefore, not prejudice the people of Turkana County just because they are a rural county who do not have that kind of expertise. I am sure that applies to all the counties. Today if we were to industrialize West Pokot, you would be told that apart from Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo, you cannot count any other professors. This applies to many other places across the country. Therefore, unless we are able to generate a cadre of educated Kenyans, we will never achieve the ideal of equality in this country. This report has spoken about marginalized communities who need to start school feeding programmes to facilitate the stay of learners in school. This is not a favour; this is a matter of right. You do not educate your country because you think you are doing it a favour, you educate your country because it is a matter of need and right. Therefore, I think we have an obligation as the Senate to ensure that we send the right signals from the word go within this current arrangement on devolution. We intend to support education in all its stages. If you are not able to create the right kind of psyche and capacity when people are young and willing to learn, especially at the advent of early childhood, then it might be very difficult in the long run to ensure that these individuals acquire quality education. Therefore, we must start to invest at the right time. For example, we are told that about one million students sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations every year, but only about 100,000 join secondary schools. About 100,000 students finish the Kenya School Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) every year and only about 10,000 are able to join institutions of higher learning or universities. Where do the rest of these youngsters go? I think if this country does not start a programme of education and innovation, a programme that broadly cultivates economic growth to absorb these young people, we are creating a social crisis which will be very difficult for us to bear in the long run. Madam Temporary Speaker, only a few of us pay taxes in this country. The people who are within the income tax bracket are extremely minimal. I know that many Kenyans are taxed indirectly through, for example, Value Added Tax (VAT) and many other ways, but those who directly pay taxes are so few. Therefore, it is only a few of us who have to support an entire country. If we have a vision of moving to a social welfare State, then it is incumbent that we try to generate the right atmosphere so that everybody in this country can afford an opportunity, not only in education but also in life so that they can be productive to their country. For those who lack this kind of capacity are not lucky enough to be able to get that opportunity to education and other opportunities in life, then the State must intervene to ensure that that person is afforded some decency and dignity in his or her life. Last time when I was in Mombasa, there was a conference of teachers which was attended by His Excellency the President, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, the current Governor of Mombasa, and many others. When we sat with the President, I flagged one particular issue; that is, the right to education for persons with disability. This has been an extremely passionate agenda for many of us from the human rights fraternity. Many people have been denied opportunities in their lives because parents or societies 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"
}