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{
    "id": 697457,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/697457/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 162,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ogolla",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1264,
        "legal_name": "Gideon Ochanda Ogolla",
        "slug": "gideon-ochanda-ogolla"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I support the approval of this Policy because it supports the position of the Constitution and our child-related legislations. Secondly, when we talk about a child’s life, a lot of the time of a child is naturally spent in eating, sleeping or playing. Those are the three activities that engage a child’s life. We then add what we now call child improvement or development in the name of education. The interplay of all these four factors negates or puts aside what we call child labour. Immediately we miss out in the four, then it becomes almost automatic that child labour creeps in. This is because when a child is not in school, he or she must be engaged in doing something like playing, sleeping or eating. For a child to eat there must be a provider; for a child to sleep there must be somewhere to sleep and for a child to play there must be, at least, some engagement between the child and other children around. So, the interplay of all these really indicates that if we miss out, then we get into a situation where we talk about child labour. We have many incidents of child labour. If we look at education, which has been alluded to, we will note that the Ministry does not have any fee that is formal or clear on the education we are paying for primary schools. However, there are all manner of levies in primary schools to the extent that if you look at them, you will find that they are more than the school fees we were paying. A pupil in Standard Seven pays close to Kshs3,000. These are things that are known by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and yet it does not do anything, or they are illegally charged by schools or by teachers sometimes with the knowledge of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology officials. When we charge levies and yet we know that the economies of the rural areas cannot support that, then we are definitely taking children out of school. When we take them out of school, they must find how to eat. Definitely, they will engage in some activities to fend for themselves. These are some of the things we really have to look at. When we talk about economic situation, there are community learning arrangements that are also not very far from what we call child labour. A child will go to school in the normal school days, but on Saturday and Sunday, the child is in the field herding livestock. To the communities of that child, that is learning. We also have all manner of domestic chores that they engage in. To many of us, that is learning. So, one does not look at them in the name of child labour. 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."
}