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"id": 601585,
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"speaker_name": "Hon. Wakhungu",
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"legal_name": "Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu",
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"content": "included in the appointment of school principals. When you talk of consultation, it does not necessarily mean concurrence but as critical stakeholders, they must be involved. Hon. Deputy Speaker, another thing is about the boards. It is important that a Member of Parliament, as the representative of the people, is included. This is because at the constituency level, the buck stops with the Member. The health function has been devolved, but as a Member, if you go to your constituency, you will find people coming to you. So, indeed, the Member of Parliament must be involved as far as the board is concerned. He will ensure issues of oversight and quality are observed. In case anything goes wrong, the buck stops with the Member. We had the education regulations in terms of who should be the chairperson of the board. The regulation says that the chairperson of the board of a secondary school must be a graduate with a degree. As we move, we should amend that part. How many Members here do not have degrees? Chairpersons of boards do not necessarily have to be graduates. Even a diploma is adequate. In my constituency, I had a very good chairman of a board, but because of the new regulation he could not get that position. We must amend and, at least, put a diploma and not a degree. We know very well that some Members of Parliament do not have degrees. There are others who do not even have diplomas. We know it. So, why is it that at the board of a school you provide that members must be degree holders? Where are you going to get these chairpersons? Another issue is about the TSC. The Teachers Service Commission Act is very clear that they are responsible for recruitment, firing and the management of teachers. If you read the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, you will find that matters of polytechnics and Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) are under the county governments, but it is the responsibility of the TSC to employ those teachers. When it comes to the payment of salaries, the county government should pay the ECDE and the polytechnic teachers. In terms of secondary and primary school teachers, the national Government is supposed to be responsible. We should not be confused about this issue. The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution is very clear that county governments are the ones which are supposed to pay the ECDE and polytechnic teachers. However, when it comes to recruitment, hiring and firing, the responsibility should be left to the TSC. As I move on, there is the issue of private schools. Private schools are run like any business enterprise. They should be allowed to charge admission fee. The Government has no responsibility to control how private schools are run. Their only responsibility is in the public sector. We know private primary schools have done very well in this country. That is why we hear about Makini Schools and others, but they have many overheads. It is their responsibility to assess the overheads and see how they are going to handle them. So, the Government has no business whatsoever to say that private schools should not charge admission fee. That should be left to the owners because these are private entities and not public institutions. Indeed, it is key for us to do that. Clause 11 proposes to delete the provision that requires people to be given appropriate incentives. Appropriate incentives are subject to availability. When I went to school, there was milk during the Nyayo era. If the Government is struggling with the wage bill, how do you expect it to provide food in schools? It is not possible. If the economy improves, so be it. We must legislate and speak the reality. I know it is a wonderful idea, but when you are struggling to pay teachers, how will you manage to buy food for the pupils to attend school? It is a wonderful 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."
}