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{
    "id": 601699,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/601699/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 174,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mwaura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13129,
        "legal_name": "Isaac Maigua Mwaura",
        "slug": "isaac-mwaura"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. At least, this is not Hon. Lelelit’s Bill. I wanted us to proceed to the next one. If you look at these provisions, the Committee wants to ensure that needy students get an opportunity to go to school. That is very important. But the Bill fails to provide a proper mechanism. It calls for the CSs for the National Treasury and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to come up with regulations to achieve the same. It would have been more prudent to allocate such a function to any of the funds, either bursary or the CDF, so that then it is not just a matter of conjecture and speculations. There is also the issue about the school sponsors being consulted when a school that they sponsor requires a head teacher or a deputy head teacher. I beg to differ. This is going to create lot of confusion. In fact, I want to imagine that this is unconstitutional. Why? They will want to have one of their church members to be the head teacher obviously because of professing the same faith. Therefore, that will be discrimination based on religion. When a school has requested the Government of Kenya to provide for teachers, this should be left to the TSC because this is public money. I am a product of a school where this was the case. The sponsor kept on saying that they were not consulted and they would not accept a certain teacher, thereby creating a lot of mismanagement. The other thing is the issue of chaplaincy. The amendment that has been proposed is that chaplains be provided, but then at their own cost. So, I wonder whether the Government is supposed to pay for the costs or the fees of a chaplain of a school. This needs to be looked at again. I know this is a Bill concerning the counties and the legislation here seeks to ensure that the TSC provides for teachers at pre-primary level. If I am not wrong, early childhood education is a devolved function. So, I wonder where again, through this legislation, we are conferring a national body a function or a role that is supposed to be primarily that of county governments. We may want to look at that. The other thing is the issue of Members of Parliament sitting in the County Education Boards and Sub-County Education Boards. First, I commend the membership. For special interests, there is a person with disability representing persons with disabilities there. That is very good. But in terms of the structure of the Government, can you have a Member of Parliament sitting in an executive board? Is it constitutional? We also need to look at the constitutionality of such a provision. Otherwise, it flies in the face against the separation of powers. The Bill is good. I am of the opinion that in some instances, it seeks to over-legislate. Some of these things can be solved administratively."
}