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"content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, education is very important in the lives of our children. Without education, we will go nowhere. Education is important because it offers job opportunities and helps to sustain the development of our economy. If we want to eradicate poverty, then we must move in the direction of educating our children. Our Constitution is very clear on education. It recognizes that everyone has a right to education. So, why can we not help to uplift the standards of students or children in arid and semi-arid areas, to bring them to the same level as other counties? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, education has also other benefits. For instance, we have talked about boarding facilities. These are good because they are safe for children. They will be able to study at night, as opposed to if they were day-scholars. Since, maybe there is no electricity at home, that child cannot compete with other children in other counties. Therefore, boarding facilities which are well equipped are very important. We have seen on television children learning under trees. Really, is this happening in Kenya or elsewhere? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am happy that Sen. Halima actually thought of bringing this Motion, so that the Government can take some action to correct the historical injustices. We are aware that there is the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). One of the functions of CDF is actually to help put up infrastructure and give out bursaries. But at the same time, education is not a devolved function. Therefore, we need to involve the county governments to put up infrastructure and boarding facilities, so that our children are comfortable. When you educate children, you are educating a nation. We have all come a long way because of education. We would not even stand here to deliberate on the Floor of the House if we were all illiterate. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, education for our children and even civic education for our mothers and fathers has value addition. Why are some cultural practices like the FGM still going on? Some people stick to their cultures because they lack awareness and civic education. They do not know that some of these practices pull them back. We should encourage the national Government to do something in the arid and semi-arid areas, because these are the counties that have been ignored in the past. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, sometimes when you watch television, they show the manyatas where these people live. Surely, I have never seen classrooms or a boarding facility being shown. Children in those areas have to walk for miles to get to school. So, this Motion is very important and it should be given proper attention so that we can correct these injustices. This is affirmative action which is in Article 56(b) of our Constitution, which is very clear. Article 43(1)(f) of the Constitution states that:- “Every person has the right— (f) to education.” Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, why can we not move in the right direction so that we bring all counties at par and make sure that there is no one county performing better than the other because of lack of facilities or science laboratories? For instance, in my county, we have a few schools that perform very well because they are within the urban centres. However, schools which are in the remote areas are lagging behind. You will also find the dropout rate for girls is very high in those areas. Similarly, the rate of pregnancy among young girls is also very high. Why? Because every morning when you 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."
}