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"content": "for having thought about the status of education in Northern Kenya and bringing this Motion to allow this House to discuss the matter and request the Committee to investigate the status of education in that region. Madam Temporary Speaker, education is a basic right for every child in this country and also internationally. The right to education is enshrined in Article 53(b) of our Constitution, because education is the backbone of development. Therefore, if we do not ensure that we have quality education in our regions, it means that we shall not have meaningful development, not only in Northern Kenya, but also in many counties in our country. Having said that, Madam Temporary Speaker, I want to point out a few things. First, I concur with Sen. (Dr.) Ali on the Teacher Service Commission (TSC) transfer policy. It is important that whenever the TSC recruits teachers, not only in Northern Kenya, but also in all other regions in this country, to consider having them stay there for five years, as a policy. We have this particular issue in all our counties, where teachers apply for a job, get the job in our counties and, within one year, request for transfers out of those areas. They do this because they have already achieved their goal; which is to be in the TSC payroll, consequently leaving those particular stations unattended. We must, therefore, stick to the TSC policy. The TSC should also urge the school board of management and the Parents-Teachers Association (PTAs) to employ teachers who will stay in those particular areas for five years. Secondly, Madam Temporary Speaker, I urge Sen. (Dr.) Ali and the rest of the leadership of those particular counties in North Eastern to look into school infrastructure. North Eastern, being a harsh climatic area, needs quality infrastructure, for example, houses for teachers. You cannot just send a teacher from Kajiado, Nairobi, Eldoret or whichever other area in this country to an area with no basic infrastructure like houses, toilets, classrooms to teach in and administration blocks where one can sit and do their planning for the day. I agree with him that education, being the mandate of the national and county governments, the leadership of counties in Northern Kenya must push the county governments to allocate enough resources to the school systems. They should look into the possibility of having teachers’ houses, staff quarters and adequate classrooms for their children. Madam Temporary Speaker, I know that the mandate of county governments is restricted to pre-primary education or Early Childhood Development (ECD). County governments should, therefore, set a good example and foundation by putting up enough ECD classrooms and houses for teachers, so that we can save the generations to come. We need to see the national government, through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), putting up classes in Northern Kenya and fencing those schools so that our teachers can have a conducive environment to work in and help these children. Madam Temporary Speaker, we also need to see local leaders from these counties coming out to campaign and speak loudly on the quality of education in their regions. We cannot all sit here in Nairobi, neglect those regions and then talk about poor performance. We must go down there and talk to our people on the need for their children being enrolled and retained in schools. We want to see these children being taken through 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."
}