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{
    "id": 817856,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/817856/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 436,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, at Independence, there were few primary schools in Northern Kenya. There was one in Wajir, Garissa, Mandera and Marsabit. The one in Wajir started in 1948. It is the only primary school there. However, there were no secondary schools in the former North Eastern Province at Independence. Secondary schools in Wajir started in 1965. When you look at where the region is compared to where it was then, we thank successive leaders of from the region and elsewhere for the effort which was made for us to be where we are today. At one time, teachers were the largest work force of public servants in the region. That showed that the region appreciated the importance of education and they took their children to teachers training colleges. At one stage, the substantial numbers of those teachers were from outside the region. There is no one time where teachers from the rest of Kenya were scarce. Madam Temporary Speaker, as time passed, things continued to change. In fact, when we had the Free Primary Education (FPE) which was implemented by the Government in 2003, schools became many and facilities were overwhelmed, hence the shortage of teachers to the extent that the ratio of children to teachers became drastically high. That is when the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) attempted to employ. In fact, quite a number of teachers who were there were not transferred, they were employed. When vacancies occurred in an attempt to deal with the gaps, the TSC employed teachers who mostly came from all over Kenya. The teachers we have today in that region were not transferred by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), as it used to happen many years back. They were employed because they sought for jobs in that region. Madam Temporary Speaker, the recruitment numbers were also not matching the gaps and shortages that were there. As one of my colleagues mentioned, in some schools we only have two teachers; the head teacher and one more teacher. With the advent of CDF in the Ninth Parliament, a lot of schools were built together with the infrastructure which was not there. That is the reason we ended up with many schools with a shortage of teachers. The current situation that we are in has also been exacerbated by the confusion that was created by insecurity in the region. That insecurity affected the whole region and, as a matter of fact, the Al Shaabab came up with tactics to divide Kenyans and we fell for them. It is unfortunate that the Al Shaabab militia is dividing Kenyans along religious lines and we are giving in. The unfortunate incidents that happened to the quarry workers, Garissa University and in Wajir, have all now been lumped together to affect the whole region. Even in some parts of the region which did not experience incidents of insecurity, teachers wanted to move out and the TSC gave in. In fact, the TSC proved very incompetent in dealing with the matter. Instead of them looking into this issue and determining how best to deal with it, they overreacted and we found ourselves in the confusion we are in. Madam Temporary Speaker, the Senate must look into this matter and find out what needs to be done in terms of information gathering. We need to find out the issues on the ground, because seeing is believing. You will see that the insecurity, which is so much hyped, is not there. You will also realize that claims of racism and discrimination are not true. We are very willing, as the Senators from that region, to accompany the Committee on the ground in order to deal with the matter squarely. We cannot run away from a problem that exists. 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."
}