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"content": "this Motion. I stand here, in principle, to say that the Ministry is in support of this idea. I need to delve into the history of FPE as well as FSE. There was the Kamunge Report that came before 2003, and which made it known to us that the enrolments had gone down. Instead of us increasing enrolment in primary schools, we had actually lowered our enrolments. That is because the burden of education had shifted to parents. The Report gave us the starting point. It was necessary to rethink how to frame our education system so that we can increase the enrolment, access, equity and the quality of education. That led to Sessional Paper No.1 of 2005. This was informed by the Committee headed by Dr. Edah Gachukia. The Committee did not just arrive at the figures of capitation that would be given to FPE. They sat with different stakeholders and visited different areas. Many people contributed and came up with a figure of Kshs1,020 as adequate to cover FPE per student. The same happened in 2008. There was a Committee led by Dr. Edah Gachukia and the team recommended a figure of Kshs10,265 as adequate for the expenses to be covered by a student in a day secondary school. In both cases, the Report made it clear that these figures should be reviewed upwards depending on the cost of living. That has not happened since that was done. The current situation is as follows: There is a taskforce that has been put in place by the Minister for Education. It is headed by Prof. Douglas Odhiambo. It is supposed to review all the necessary aspects of our education system. This partly has been necessitated by our new Constitution. As you all know, we are in a new era of our Constitution. I would like Members to be alive to that. If I could be allowed to quote here, Article 53(b) of the Constitution is with regard to Children. It says that every child has a right to free and compulsory education. Basic education is inclusive of ECD, primary and secondary education. Article 53(c) says that every child has a right to free basic nutrition, shelter and healthcare. Article 53(d) says that children should be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices, all forms of violence, inhuman treatment and punishment, hazardous or exploitative labour. Article 53(e) says that every child has a right to parental care and protection which includes equal responsibility of the mother and father to provide for the child whether they are married to each other or not. Article 54 of the new Constitution talks about persons with disabilities. Article 54(b) says that a person with any disability is entitled to access educational institutions and facilities for persons with disabilities that are integrated into our society to the extent that they are compatible with the interests of the person. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Article 55 on Youth, states that:- âThe State shall take measures, including affirmative action programmes to ensure that the youth- (a) access relevant education and trainingâ. Article 56 on Minorities and Marginalized Groups states that:- âThe State shall put in place affirmative action programmes designed to ensure that minorities and marginalized groups- (b) are provided special opportunities in educational and economic fieldsâ. I am quoting these sections of the Constitution to lend credit to the fact that we have, as a Ministry, found it necessary to set up a taskforce, so that when we come up with recommendations, they are completely in tandem with the Constitution. This taskforce will definitely be addressing also the cost of education in our country. I am"
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