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{
    "id": 441271,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/441271/?format=api",
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    "content": "In fact, in some countries, teachers of nursery schools get more pay than teachers in primary and high school because over and above impacting the curriculum on these young lives, these people are actually more of parents, care givers, teachers, spiritual leaders and many other things combined in one person. So, I am looking forward to a situation where our teachers in early childhood education will be more paid than their counterparts in primary schools and even if possible in secondary schools. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, also appalling is the neglect that we have seen across this country on the infrastructure which is available to children of tender years in school. If you want to inspect or to see the most dilapidated building in a school, the most untidy, unkempt, rundown building in a school, it is most likely going to be the nursery school or the early childhood education class. Those are the ones you find the children are in mud walled buildings yet the other older boys and girls are having permanent or semi-permanent classes. I want to take this opportunity to thank some of the development organizations. I am aware, for example, that in my own county of Tharaka-Nithi, an organization called Plan International has been having a programme of actually building a permanent class for early childhood education children or nursery schools even in schools where no other class exists in terms of a permanent building. I think that is the tone of this Report. I have even seen one of the recommendations of this Report referred to as the “best classroom model”. The nursery school should be the best class because that is when the children are tenderer, they need a lot of care; that is when you need to entice them to like school as this Report suggests, so that they can see that school is a great thing. If they are coming from homes which are not so comfortable, they can find comfort in school and that will encourage them. The first impression our children get about school really informs a lot in their journey in the education pilgrimage. I have also seen in this Report with gratitude that the issue of ICT has been addressed. I think this is one area we cannot run away from. You cannot talk about modernizing this country unless we go out of our way in mainstreaming ICT at all levels. At the county level, I want to assure you that except for a few counties with regard to specific centres in urban centres like county headquarters, there is not much ICT in the countryside yet we know ICT can be an engine of springing economic activity. If people can communicate and be able to use their mobiles which in some places we have seen on television; people climbing rocks, trees, hills and mountains and looking for some specific spots in some cliff somewhere so that they can make telephone calls. In the 21st Century, we cannot talk about making Kenya a middle income country by 2030, if our people are still looking for rocks and cliffs and trees to be able to communicate by telephone or by other means of a modern nature. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the awareness and capabilities in matters ICT of the older teachers is wanting. Some of the young boys and girls who have just finished college and have been employed to teach are quite apt with ICT except for the older teachers especially in the countryside in our counties. There is need to target that category if we have to mainstream ICT in our education sector especially within the teaching fraternity. It is sad that what the Jubilee Government wanted to see, and this is to have young children from the time they enter school even in the early childhood education class, to have some kind of exposure to technology. This has lagged behind mainly because of disputes in courts and controversies and we hope that going 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."
}