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"content": "projects that were put into place, but at the end of the day, they did not see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is because at one point or another, they ended up not being applied to the full. I remember, for example, the meal programme for primary school going children. That was a good thing. It was part of the school feeding programme, but it was not sustained. Therefore, after a short time, it was stopped and the advantage it was supposed to have had was removed. From the Speech, one of the most important things that we must consider or think about in Kenya, from the Presidential Speech, is to try to draw a young, educated and vibrant population that will make its appearance on the economic stage. How do we actualize this? In other words, we are thinking about a group of youth. We must think of the implications in terms of the education that they must have if they are to come out as a vibrant population that will make a difference in the economy. Therefore, the key bit that is very crucial in the educational sector is the relevance of education. How relevant is education for the population so that they can be viable? Again, I will go back to the Ominde Commission of 1963 which was still addressing relevance of education and even the latest Commissions like the Koech Commission. The issue of relevance of education is something that is still talked about. Therefore, we do not, at the end of the day, use the ideas that were meant to be brought out. The Ndegwa Commission was categorical in saying that, at the end of the day, our educational system should not focus on the academic aspect, but also on the vocational and the technical aspects. If I look through the Presidential Speech, I see that some of the sectors that are lagging behind are, probably, behind because the technical and the vocational aspect of education have not been put into consideration. The agricultural and the manufacturing sectors, for example, need a certain type of education to be brought to the young people. When young people are able to appreciate this, especially in an economy like that of Kenya where we have nearly 80 per cent of our people living in rural areas and engaging in agricultural activities, then we should, not only focus on white collar jobs, but also blue collar jobs because that is how we will get out of sectoral constraints and make our contributions. Our educational system also needs to focus on innovation. Yesterday, I heard the Senator for Kiambu saying that there is somebody who has invented a helicopter which is just about to fly. The education system we have has not inculcated in our youth a sense of moving out and creating innovations. This society has not appreciated those innovations. Over time, these are put in the backyard. I remember a great innovation of the Nyayo car which is still waiting to be driven. So, if we expect to have a generation of young, vibrant, youthful educated Kenyans, then we have to make sure that they have the proper skills and techniques imparted to them. Therefore, as we do that, we must address the whole issue of access to education, the quality of that education and its relevance. We are talking about 70 per cent of our youth being unemployed. Basically, they are getting prepared to become employees rather than employers. If they have the right skills that can match our national agenda, then we would move out of that problem. One of the things that were addressed in the Presidential Speech is that of middle level colleges and the need to ensure that they are sustained. Of late, these have been transmitted or changed into universities. That is a trend that needs to be addressed, but again, as I said, it needs to be applied rather than just implied. Therefore, technical and 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."
}