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{
    "id": 594971,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/594971/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 240,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Karaba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 232,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Dickson Karaba",
        "slug": "daniel-karaba"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this chance to contribute in support of the Bill which is on the Floor of the House. I thank my friend, Sen. Musila, for consistently finding time and not losing patience in pursuit of what we will call “the necessary step”. This is the right thing in the right direction. As the Chairman of the Committee on Education, I have pushed for clauses which I believe will be of use and could be used in the education sector in Kenya where nobody will exploit the other one. Madam Temporary Speaker, when the Bill was tabled, I was the only one who opposed it. Later on, we agreed with the Senator on modalities of how to approach such issues. By then, I had come from school and I knew what heads were saying. I had come from a headship position and I knew what it meant to release certificates. However, with time, I have realised that it is necessary to change the tune and think about what happens when a child is not issued with a certificate. Personally, I have had quite a number of cases where I had to intervene at the KNEC or a school to implore a head teacher to release a certificate to a given child because of needy problems. We are talking about a school which allowed a child to join Form One on admission and they paid money to be admitted. The same child is allowed by the same head teacher to go to Form Two, despite having not completed fees. My earlier argument was that, what would happen if the head teacher refused the boy or girl to proceed to Form Two, so that he or she could claim a certificate? That issue was solved by the introduction of free primary and secondary education. The Government did quite well to introduce free education to that level and we thank it for that. The Government also came up with guidelines of how much money should be paid by each child in secondary schools and colleges. The same Government also waived examination fees and we thank it for that because that was another problem. Students would be taught, but they would not get the examination fees when it came to registration. That still added the burden to the parent. Madam Temporary Speaker, a certificate is a paper issued upon completion certifying that someone has been to Form Four or Standard Eight. That is the only paper that one can show to prove that they went to school up to those levels. The certificates are required by employers and for transition to other levels of education like colleges and universities. Therefore, it is important that we discuss about certificates because without them, somebody cannot join the next level of education. They cannot even secure courses which could lead to employment. For example, one cannot sit for the Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examinations Board (KASNEB) in order to get the necessary accounting abilities without a Form Four certificate. The certificate is very important, but it has been misused and abused by some of the parents who have failed to pay fees for their children in schools. For that reason, head teachers have found it very difficult to provide facilities and services for the same children who are supposed to sit for the Form Four examinations in order to acquire certificates. For somebody to get a certificate, they must have been taught and studied in a school with a library. Therefore, books, equipment and chemicals for various practical in the laboratories must be bought. Laboratories must be put in place and the necessary environment provided. If that can be 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."
}