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{
    "id": 622076,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/622076/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 326,
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    "content": "We must start investing holistically in our schools so that you have people who come out of schools not having just crammed theories to pass examinations. They must have a way of expressing themselves; they should have succeeded in talents and competencies. We should have a person who can think outside the box or better yet as they say nowadays, think without the box. We want to have students who are innovative in their thinking and have a focus on what they want to contribute. The Cabinet Secretary must be supported when he says that we need to reform university education so that there is no mere mushrooming of universities without focus on skills and competencies. There is a lot in this country about getting a certificate for the sake of it and it being a basis of being promoted, without one showing what skills and competencies they have learnt and how to apply them to change this country. The Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Matiang’i must be supported when it comes to ensuring that when a university is expanding across the country, they must demonstrate that they have the resources to meet that kind of expansion. They should not just expand for the purpose of creating employment or getting more students to get certificates. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we must also relook at how universities examine their students. I agree with the previous speakers who have said that the ranking of universities is very important. All over the world, even in the United States of America (USA), they rank universities not just on overall education, but they also rank them in terms of sports, international law, medicine, agriculture and many others. We need to have a proper scholarship system in this country that is transparent and that can reach the needy students. The situation that was mentioned here by Sen. Lesuuda is a fact. We find situations where children who have excelled in their examinations are staying at home. Three years down the line, a student tells you that he had attained over 400 marks, he did not proceed because of lack of school fees, he or she is still at home. We need to have a system that works. We can talk of projects that Sen. Karaba mentioned here like the “Wings to Fly” scholarship and many others. However, those are initiatives of individuals that must be lauded and supported. However, the Government must also have its scholarship programme. Secondly, we need to have more philanthropists in this country. What the Chairman of Equity Bank, Mr. Munga and Mr. Mwangi are doing can be replicated by many other Kenyans who have been endowed with resources. Instead of having this adhoc way of supporting, which we do; I know that almost all politicians here are paying school fees somewhere; we might need to create more programmes that have institutional framework which can assist as many students as possible. Our counties can become the organizing institutions; assist and work with these philanthropists. We need to appeal to more Kenyans that they do not need to pass on from this world with all that wealth; they can give back to society. For example, in the United States of America (USA), universities are growing because rich people are giving back to society by building classrooms, supporting scientific research and as on. That is why some of us had an opportunity to study in developed countries, for instance, South Africa, USA and other places. This was made possible by scholarships given by other people who want to fund needy students. That is the same thing that we need to grow in this The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}