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{
    "id": 698248,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/698248/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 115,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Melly",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12849,
        "legal_name": "Julius Kipbiwot Melly",
        "slug": "julius-kipbiwot-melly"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Bill. The County Early Childhood Education Bill (Senate Bill No.23) is very important because it is trying to streamline the early childhood education sector. This sector has been disorderly due to lack of a legal framework to govern its operations. Our education system is still developing. This Bill provides for registration of ECDE teachers with basic minimum qualifications. As we speak, most of the ECDE teachers have different levels of education. The Bill is categorical that an ECDE teacher must have certain basic educational qualifications, is able to handle children and understands the psychology of children. The Bill is also trying to ensure that all ECDE teachers are registered by the TSC. The ECDE teachers employed in the various counties have not been registered or certified as teachers. The county governments have come up with their own laws and regulations. Some counties have employed Form Four leavers who have no ECDE training. The Bill is trying to fill the gaps that are within the system so that we can have teachers who are registered and recognised by the TSC – the only employer of teachers with the authority to ensure that every teacher is registered. A teacher who has a certificate of registration has authority to transact business in a classroom. Therefore, this Bill is important, knowing that our education curriculum is under review. Previous curriculums did not recognise ECDE. In the new curriculum, ECDE is considered to take two years and it needs a qualified teacher. This Bill also incriminates parents who do not take their children to school or ECDE centres. In fact, it outlines the penalties that such parents are supposed to suffer in case their children are not taken to ECDE centre to access education. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Bill also curbs the age limit of an ECDE child. Currently, a number of children who are overgrown are taken to ECDE centres. The older children do not give a good learning environment to children in the early childhood ages. Therefore, this Bill has capped the age for early childhood education at six. We have elderly people who have lately been enrolling in Standard One and Two with the aim of learning how to read and write. This Bill proposes that such mature people should go to adult classes where their needs will be catered for. The Bill is very essential because it seeks to standardise the employment of ECDE teachers. Currently, various county governments have employed ECDE teachers with different terms of service while others underpay them. Some counties pay them a monthly salary of Kshs5,000, which is too little for any adult Kenyan to effectively facilitate the learning process in school. This Bill proposes that the TSC links with the county governments with a view to ensuring that employment of teachers is done by one central body. Although the county governments have the money to pay the ECDE teachers, the responsibility of employing should be left to the TSC to ensure teachers are employed by one central body. I urge Hon. Members to support this Bill because ECDE is the foundation of all education systems. We have passed basic education Bills in this Parliament, including the TVET Act and the Universities Act. All these are managing different sub-sectors of the larger education sector. For many years, ECDE has been neglected. I urge Members to support this Bill because if ECDE is not taken care of, the subsequent levels of education will suffer. 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."
}