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{
    "id": 594962,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/594962/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 231,
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    "content": "Parliament or other elective positions will not be cleared to contest until they pay their HELB loans. Madam Temporary Speaker, we rejected those amendments. It is, therefore, true as it is said in the Bible that; those who have more will be added more, and those who have less, even the little they have, will be taken away from them. This matter needs a little more attention because it is not enough passing so many laws, going to court and issuing declarations. There is lack of political goodwill in matters of this nature because majority of the students are from poor families. Therefore, while we celebrate, Karl Marx said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I see very good intentions and nice things that are done by the national Government to try and help the youths. However, why is it that everybody wants to sweep this subject under the carpet? I am convinced that the schools where these certificates are withheld, even if it is for a period like Sen. Musila said, since 2006, they had not been offering food or basic facilities to the students. If we were to get statistics on how much is owed to these schools, vis a vis the support that the national Government is giving through disbursements, to the secondary schools and look at our budget and what we are spending money on in terms of priorities, I can assure you, Sen. Karaba, that your Government will get a little more votes by supporting the 17 or 18 year old children from poor families who just need certificates to show that they sat for their Kenya Certificate of Secondary School (KCSE) examinations. If I went into an exam room knowing that my parent will not afford to pay school fees by the time I am through with exams, what then will be my incentive of doing the examination? We had some pride and joy in 2012 when the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) found itself into an Act of Parliament. It was the first time that had ever happened. We thought that these people would consider our children in terms of examination by making them an independent body and giving them a budget and mandate yet today, as I speak, we have a crisis in this nation. Head teachers are calling people like me every day to report that the exams have leaked. They do not know what to do. We do not have an exam this year. It will never be an exam. What will happen when the exams results are released is that KNEC will ban some schools and blacklist students. We have warned them against doing that. Madam Temporary Speaker, these people have let us down in more ways than one. Article 53 of the Constitution says that we shall protect the rights of children. The Constitution goes further in Article 53(2) to say that:- “A child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.” The withholding of certificates by any head teacher is in violation of the Article 53(2) of the Constitution. Sooner rather than later, I am ready together with Sen. Musila, to file a similar petition for a similar declaration. Unlike in his time, we placed an advertisement for all the students in this country whose certificates have been withheld to come forth and join the petition. You should have seen the paper work; they were thousands upon thousands. We will do the same because there is no value of being here, legislating to help this country, picking allowances every time we sit or stand yet the people who are the future of this country and voters cannot have a simple basic document showing the grades they attained. I support this amendment because I am convinced that it will help many children whose certificates are still withheld in schools. This is an argument we had in 2004 that there is no 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."
}