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"id": 546775,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Wakhungu",
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"legal_name": "Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu",
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"content": "should be scrapped, and this is an idea that hon. Wangwe has been having since we entered this Parliament. So thank you hon. Wangwe; I know that in a short while we are going to have this Bill implemented. We thank his Excellency for the executive order, but unfortunately, in case we get a rogue President, that executive order cannot be sustained. Therefore, it is, indeed, important that we have a law in place, so that whoever comes in is obligated not charge exam fees. When you look at the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), particularly Goal No.2, which talks of access to universal primary education--- Last time I had an opportunity to go to London to attend a conference on the MDGs titled “The Role of Parliamentarians”. One of the critical issues that came up, and has been a handicap, was that many governments have in place the Free Primary Education (FPE) like Kenya; unfortunately, the exam fee becomes an obstacle. Therefore, if this Bill goes through, I have no doubt that the rating of Kenya as far as access to basic primary education is concerned is going to be high. We know that some headmasters and principals squander fees. Poor children pay fees, but they are unable to sit examinations. So once this Bill is in place, the Government is going to budget for it and those poor children, who cannot afford exam fees, are going to be assured of education. Free education cannot be achieved if at the end of going to school you do not have a certificate, and you can only have a certificate if you have sat for the exam. Therefore, this Bill is going to add a lot of value as far as improving people’s welfare is concerned. When you look at MDG No.1, which talks about eradication of total poverty, you will realize that if people go to school, we are going to eradicate poverty, because their chances of getting employment are going to be enhanced. Once this fees is abolished, Prof. Kaimenyi will not need to tell head teachers that they must report to the Ministry for purposes of enforcing Government directive on school fees. It was because actually that was a critical issue. Therefore, once we finalize this, we will not want the TSC mandate to be interfered with, and the head teachers and principals should report to the TSC and not to the CS. The legacy that the former President, Mwai Kibaki, left was that of Free Primary Education. We have been wondering what legacy the Jubilee Government will leave behind. We were thinking of the laptops, but they have not yet come. However, if the Jubilee Government actualizes the issue of exam fees, at least, that could be a legacy. The President has already given that executive order, and it is already in place. We now want to give it legal backing, so that it can be implemented. We want this to be in line with Article 43 of the Constitution, which talks of access to education. It is so that this issue of exam fees is abolished. However, the worry is: Are we abolishing it for everyone, including those in the private schools that can afford? This is something that we should think about. I would like to direct this to the Mover, hon. Wangwe. In this Bill, if we abolish exam fees, are we abolishing it even in private schools or is it only in the public schools? When we go to the Committee of the whole House, we need to bring some amendments, so that we are able to know this. If somebody has gone to a private school and they can afford it, so be it. So, my interest here is critically on the public schools. This is because even when it comes to healthcare when you offer free medical services they can only be accessed in public hospitals. When you go to The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}