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"id": 403762,
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"content": "have been a teacher for a long time. Sometimes I get shocked to see people being trained to teach a specified subject. By the time, they finish the training, that subject is no longer in the curriculum. Therefore, they remain redundant. The equipment that has been bought by the Govenrment to train teachers will, at one time, be vandalized because they will not be of use after some certain stage. For example, we used to have technical schools which used to produce wonderful people. These are the people who have supported our technical development in Kenya. But after sometime when the 8-4-4 system of education was started, the technical schools were done away with. Some technical schools like Kabete, Nairobi Technical College and Kisumu Technical College which were doing very well are no longer producing those technicians who would have been very useful in running the country. At the moment, even some of the equipment that was used to train people to get specialized skills is not there. Some of the equipment has been vandalized and sold by the same administration. That is a lot of money which has gone to waste. Why can we not have a system of Government which will be observed even by those who will come after us? For example, if a President decided to provide Nyayo milk to pupils, that should have continued even during the Kibaki Government and now. However, in this country, somebody comes up with a policy and when he is no longer in office, the whole process ceases. That is why somebody will come up with “Michuki rules” and when he is not there, Mwakwere will come in and he is not interested in those rules. This is what we are complaining about. Everytime we talk and nothing happens. Madam Temporary Speaker, if we can be serious to a point where we can identify talents in our people, that will be good for development. For example, if we can identify an astronaut, let that person be taken to the Southampton School of Astronomy, so that he can come back as somebody who can contribute to our economy immensely. Also, we need to be serious in what we are innovating. In Malaysia, there is a card, like the ATM card, which has so many other functions. It is used to drive, open doors and for security. This card has been developed by students. Once talents are identified in students, they are given positions and continue identifying other people with talents and the story continues. Therefore, our syllabus should be able to recognize the existing market, so that those who are trained as scientists, for example, will continue discovering and spending more time in the field, instead of exploring other fields elsewhere. That is what is killing our education system in Kenya. Madam Temporary Speaker, Prof. Maina Mungai was a very great scholar, but at the point of his retirement nobody knew him. We also have Prof. Ogot, but our system does not recognize the existence of such people. So, even when they pass on, nobody remembers them. How many roads are named after scholars in Nairobi? In America, scientists and scholars are given very good salaries. They are recognized and given state protection. That makes them feel like they belong there. Madam Temporary Speaker, we should start a syllabus which is relevant to the market, so that those pupils who are in lower classes will continue developing their talents until they get to a higher level. Since not all of them will go to the universities, some can be supported to do farming. Those who are in fishing can continue making nets because that is their talent. Collectively, we will have very many people in Kenya who are contributing or who will be contributing towards our economy. This is the economy that will now be seen to be Kenyan as everybody else will be participating. So, that participatory approach is what is lacking in Kenya. 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"
}