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    "id": 562282,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/562282/?format=api",
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    "content": "manner that is devoid of corporal punishment. This Bill is very clear that corporal punishment shall not be accepted. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, regarding the issue of the curriculum, we have said that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development shall develop curriculum for ECD. We have also allowed that county governments may look at that curriculum and fine tune it to be in line with the realities. What I did not see and probably will need to do much more detailed reading is the issue of languages to be used in teaching the children at that early age. We are facing a crisis where children of a certain class or society will hardly be proficient in mother-tongue. Being proficient in mother-tongue does not make one a tribalist but makes one diverse. What language of instruction are we going to use to ensure that our children have access to a wide variety of languages and are able to understand, accept and adopt the cultural teachings from the areas where they come from? The little I know about the songs that were sung in the olden days was not learnt at higher levels in school. They were learnt in the village at the fireplace with the grandmother. I hope we can use the early childhood education not just to pump in western beliefs and western stories like Cinderella, Barbie and so on. I hope we will inject knowledge of some of our heroes like Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Dedan Kimathi, Samoei and so on, in the curriculum. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for ECD to be compulsory, then ECD centres must be in close proximity. We see a situation where every morning we subject our three year old children to two hours of torture in traffic jam so that they can go to a good school. I would not want a situation where my people who are in Nyandiwa Island have to be transported by boat everyday so that they can access the nearest ECD centre. Therefore, we need to come up with mechanisms to define the ratio. Are we going to have a school within a certain square kilometre range or are we going to have it within a certain population number range? If it is going to be compulsory and if it is going to attract a jail term, then the county government has an obligation to make sure that these facilities are provided. The issue of entry exams has been dealt with by this Bill. Back in the days, for one to get to Class One, it used to be a very easy test. It depended on how long your hand was. The issue of the length of the hand has been used differently. In our case, it meant being able to touch the ear on the opposite side of the head. That alone made people eligible to go to Class One. There should be no entry exams and children should not be embarrassed to be subjected to some rigorous examinations before they go to school. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in terms of obligations of county governments, we know that there are certain counties where there is a stand-off. The counties recruited ECD teachers and there were some forces which said that ECD teachers should be employed and recruited by TSC. This Bill provides clarity on that. However, I see a danger because on one hand, the Bill says that the TSC shall exercise disciplinary and professional control over ECD teachers but that disciplinary and professional control seems to be shared by the county executives. Principles of management; one man, one boss, we should not subject ECD teachers to too many centres of control. As we look at"
}