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{
    "id": 448601,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/448601/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 402,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Losiakou",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2662,
        "legal_name": "Losiakou David Pkosing",
        "slug": "losiakou-david-pkosing"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. From the outset, I want to join my colleagues who earlier said that this Bill is long overdue. I would like to say that we need to support it and pass it very fast. I am saying this because of two things. One, we want an institution which will harmonize the time of training, particularly a diploma holder. In my previous life as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), I had a very difficult time when the qualifications of an employee was a diploma. I would find people coming with different times of study; one comes with 6 months, another one year and another 3 years and they all say they are diplomas. The question which we need to ask ourselves - and I want to agree and support this Bill and that is why it has come to this House – is: Do we need time scales? We need to agree and say: Is a diploma equivalent to one year or two years of study? If it is two years, it is standardized across the fields and disciplines. Look at the degree. It has a minimum of four years. We need also to have minimum standards for diplomas. We should say it is two years, for example. Then we go down to a certificate. What is a certificate? We know the way Kenyans are hungry for education. Particularly now when we move to elections and so on and everybody would like to rush here and there just to acquire something called a certificate or a diploma. I really support it so that this issue is cured once and for all. That is because there has been a lot of confusion in this field. The number two issue that draws my support to this Bill is what is a degree? I want to support it and ask Kenyans that, once we establish this Board or Authority, the first place for this job should be Teachers Service Commission (TSC). That is because we have a big problem there. What is going on is that many teachers have graduated as P1s. They are now moving towards getting degrees. The qualification for a P1 is a C. Most people who are now pursuing degrees have C, C- and D+ grades. When they complete those courses and present those certificates to say they have acquired degrees, somebody in the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) says: “You guys did not get a C+.” This is because a qualification in this country today for a degree is a C+. Everybody knows that. So, what about our brothers and sisters who are now pursuing degrees and who did not have a C+? Where do they go? Are they condemned? Who do they go to?"
}