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{
"id": 562329,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/562329/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Abdirahman",
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"speaker": {
"id": 161,
"legal_name": "Abdirahman Ali Hassan",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move:- THAT, aware that the country in general and North Eastern region, in particular, currently faces an acute shortage of teachers; NOTING, that the problem in schools in North Eastern region counties has been exacerbated by the recent refusal by teachers to report to their duty stations in the region; CONCERNED, that the national Government has no plans to overturn the current freeze on regular recruitment of teachers; The Senate calls upon the national Government to immediately reintroduce the Untrained Teacher (UT) programme as well as in-service training for untrained teachers in the North Eastern region as a measure to bridge the shortage of teachers in the region. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you will allow me, I was saying that because of insecurity that has engulfed Kenya as a country and even globally, but in particular the north eastern region lately; in 2013/2014, many of us will recall tragic incidences that happened, for example, the West Gate attack. The worst which we experienced was at Garissa University College. A number of service sectors namely health and education were affected. Currently, the education sector faces a serious crisis. There has been a mass exodus of teachers from Wajir, Mandera and Garissa counties. While I honestly feel that there is some genuineness in the manner in which things have happened, I think that the bad mouth of a number of leaders, particularly from the teachers’ union led by Mr. Sossion, has exacerbated the situation. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will shortly provide you a statistical data on the number of teachers, both local and non-local, currently stationed at counties where we come from. That is a demonstration of the fact that as much as things have been bad, the Government has made efforts. That would have helped the situation if only the teachers’ union leadership did not seriously blow things out of proportion. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, education is a right as enshrined in our Constitution. Article 43(1) of the Constitution says that every person has a right to education. Education is both a social and economic right. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you also look at Article 53(1)(b) on the Specific Application of Rights, it says:- “Every child has the right to free and compulsory basic education.” Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, our rights and the rights of children in the north eastern part of this country have been denied. We feel that unless a specific measure is taken through the Senate, such as this Motion, to compel the Government to help us recruit and train teachers, then, we are bound to have serious problems."
}