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{
    "id": 697881,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/697881/?format=api",
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    "content": "what was the purpose of giving these children education? Some of their parents sell their cattle, land and everything they have. We have even held Harambees for some of them yet they are not given their certificates at the end of the day. That is not universal education. The first recommendation of this Committee is to put in place policy measures to reduce regional disparities in access of education. They have specified on the quality education in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) areas. They should have said all areas. The disparity in the supply of teachers in this country is shameful. There are some areas that have more teachers than they need while the teacher shortage in ASAL and marginalized areas like Kitui County is unbelievable. There are cases where you will only find one teacher or two teachers in a secondary school yet some schools have more teachers than they need. I therefore ask myself how we are going to achieve the universal goals when resources are not properly shared in a country like Kenya. These schools are ranked together in national examinations and those that do not have teachers compete with schools that have teachers. I want the Committee to take note of the fact that we have disparities in education in this country because we do not supply teachers equitably. The same thing happens in Primary schools. Poor parents are forced to employ teachers while rich areas get all the teachers they need. This is problem number one in our education system. This must be addressed by the Government. Sen. Muthama talked about the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) gadgets that are being distributed to schools. Again, there is marginalization in this exercise where favoured areas have electricity. Already they are ahead in ICT. There is a ward in Kitui County called Tharaka where not a single primary school has electricity yet the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum and the President say “by March this year, we will make sure that every primary school has electricity.” We are in October. I am challenging the Government and the Committee to tell me why Tharaka Ward in Kitui County has no single primary school with electricity yet we were told that by April every primary school will have electricity. The Committee recommends something which is good but never practiced. The report states, “Through the Commission for University Education (CUE), ensure that universities equip learners with practical skills they need.” Yesterday, the issue of tribalism in national universities was discussed on the Floor of this House. When universities were established, we thought they were national institutions that all students would have access to without hindrance regardless of where they come from or their tribes. Similarly, we expected these institutions to be national institutions where faculty would be drawn from anywhere in this Republic on merit. Currently, we have cases in the Rift Valley, particularly in Eldoret in Moi University which is a premier national institution. However, we have seen leaders, for instance, governors, shamelessly demanding that their own must lead in those universities. I wonder when they say, “Their own.” So, what about those regions which do not have universities? Where will their own teach? The Chairperson of the Committee was put to task yesterday to produce a statement about that incident. He kept on saying that the Cabinet Secretary will come 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"
}