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{
    "id": 471600,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/471600/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 392,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "content": "found some serious polytechnic work going on. In the rest of the country, there was nothing to speak about yet the polytechnic is probably the most important institution that a county can have if they are going to industrialize. So, as we went round and as we met these people, we urged specialization within polytechnics. For example, when we went to Sigalagala Polytechnic in Kakamega County, we asked them why they do not have a mining course because the polytechnic was in a mine and the mining was still going on even as we were there. The issue was, now that we know there is going to be minerals all over the place, why can we not start courses on minerals? Madam Temporary Speaker, Singapore developed on the basis of ship building. That is a very small country, but they embarked on building ships and boats. When you go to Kisumu and look at the Lake or go to Mombasa and look at the Ocean, there is no reason we too cannot start such course in our polytechnics and build skills that can build yachts. When you travel across the world, you will find that yachts are very expensive. One of the reasons a yacht is so expensive is because the skills used to build a yacht are rare. If we can train our people and literally start selling yachts from Kisumu and Mombasa, there would be a big impact across the country. This can only happen if we start thinking big and think in terms of specialization. Madam Temporary Speaker, we met these people and emphasized the issues that I am raising here. We said that polytechnics must be properly funded. We asked the County Executive Committee members and the Members of the County Assembly why they clamour to build secondary schools, which is a function for the national Government while ignoring the polytechnics which are seriously needed more than the secondary schools. They should focus on constructing the polytechnics which are so important because they are few. We asked them why they were only concentrating on building secondary schools instead of focusing on polytechnics. Members of the National Assembly should factor it in the national Budget so that the national Government can avail money to build those institutions. Indeed they have because in this year’s Budget every constituency has been given some Kshs5 million for use in primary and secondary schools, but none has been given for the polytechnics. So, we need to think about that and urge the county governments, particularly the CECs responsible for education to really focus on polytechnics. They should build reputable polytechnics. The polytechnics should offer skills that can fill the gap that exists in our country. Whereas there are so many jobless people, when you carry out and assessment, you will find that, on the one hand there are people who cannot find jobs while on the other hand, there are people who cannot find employees in certain fields. The gap that exists is huge. In addition to the gap, there are situations where people have been trained, but it takes them a very long time when they join the market to become useful employees. Therefore, to reduce the time between when a person is employed and the time a person becomes productive, the polytechnic would be crucial institutions. This is the reason we had these three meetings. 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."
}