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{
    "id": 443329,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/443329/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 154,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support this Motion which seeks to ensure that at least three or more established schools are built in every ward. We can even go down to every location and sub-location. We want a place where children can stay and learn. There are inter-clan fights as a result of cattle rustling or scramble for resources in these areas. This happens when people do not have anything to eat. Lack of education makes some communities in these areas to continue with tradition practices that do not make sense today. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, some young men are lost in cattle rustling, but that is not out of their choice. In some of the communities which practice the culture of cattle rustling, it is survival for the fittest. People steal to eat. So, if we can contain these young men in one place at a very early age and provide them with teachers and teaching facilities, we can change the generation of the next five or ten years. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, if you look at the number of teachers in some counties it is quite appalling. In West Pokot County, for example, we only have 2,300 primary school teachers out of the 4,500 teachers that we require. That means we have a shortfall of about 48 per cent. If you visit a school along the border of West Pokot and Turkana counties, you will find one teacher teaching Class One to Class Six. How do we expect them to compete with the other Kenyan children in the other counties that are a bit developed? We passed the Constitution that says every child must be given equal opportunity in education. They must access education facilities throughout the country. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the previous speaker talked about oil discovery in Turkana County. Many more mineral discoveries are going to take place in some of the counties, particularly in the pastoralists regions. In West Pokot County, for example, we have a lot of oil and gold which is yet to be discovered. If we must now reach those areas we need to lift the locals by building many schools for them. In the years to come, people with education will be able to get jobs. I had the privilege of visiting some counties in Central Kenya. I was the chief guest during the district education day. I found that some secondary schools were closed. This could, probably, be everybody there is educated or students there have opted for distance learning because of the internet connectivity. After completing primary school education, some children do not even go to secondly school. I wished that some of those buildings could be taken to some schools in West Pokot where there are no physical structures at all. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have brilliant people in some of these counties. If we can take them to school, we will end up with engineers, lawyers and researchers. I will be bringing a Motion about enhancing research in this country. I want to state here categorically that the destiny of Kenya’s economy lies now in some of these marginalized regions. We have a lot of natural resources that are yet to be discovered in these regions. I am told that we have a lot of water in the North Rift, particularly in Turkana County. How can we make use of it if our people remain illiterate or semi-illiterate? It is time we made the affirmative action in our Constitution a reality. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to support."
}