Kenneth Odhiambo Okoth

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 671 to 680 of 979.

• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: According to Article 43 of the Constitution, free and compulsory basic education is a right for all Kenyan children. This is enshrined in our Constitution in Article 43 (1) (f). It is also in the Basic Education Act under sections 27, 28, 29 and 30. So, what brings me to discussing this? If you look at the reality of what parents and Members of Parliament present today, many of our children are being denied the right to go to secondary school to join Form One this year because of some bureaucracy, or other decisions that are yet to be made ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: If we go to the political context, the Free Primary Education (FPE) experience that was initiated under President Kibaki has been a huge success in this country. It has had its challenges. However, we can say that the commitment of our country to make sure that all children can go to primary school is something that is worth emulating across the African continent and any other parts of the developing world where children do not have access to education. Kenyans are thoughtful leaders in many ways. We decided that after ten years of experimenting and improving on the FPE and ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: We committed to that. In the political context we started 2013 by implementing this Constitution. When you look at the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy’s (CORD) 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. view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Manifesto, it promised free day secondary school to be implemented in 2013 at the presidency of hon. Raila Amolo Odinga and hon. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka. Unfortunately, they did not get a chance to come to implement that policy. It did not come to pass. view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: When you look at the Jubilee side, the Jubilee Manifesto made the same promise. President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto promised that there would be free day secondary education by 2015. That is what brings us here today. We are in 2015 and the Ministry of Education, which is charged with implementing this issue, has a task in its hand and I think it is failing the children of Kenya. Children can only be children once. They never get a second chance to go to school. If we do not guarantee them their rights, it is not a ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Head teachers and school committees who are charging too much are keeping so many deserving Kenyan children from going to secondary schools. Public secondary schools do not belong to head teachers or to the boards of management; rather they are public assets. They belong to all the children of Kenya. They are denying them a chance to go to secondary schools by setting up very high fees. We must take that as an issue that is a responsibility for the Ministry of Education to follow through. The Ministry of Education has its own existing circulars. I find it very problematic ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Hon. Deputy Speaker, I pay fees for children from Kibera to go to university. We pay typically Kshs30,000, Kshs40,000 and Kshs60,000 for a student to attend a university yet we are being asked to pay Kshs80,000, Kshs90,000, Kshs100,000, Kshs110,000 and Kshs120,000 to send a child to secondary school. view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: This would make Kenya a very unique country and it is a situation we must challenge. It is something that the Ministry is aware of. It is something that our national leadership at the top is aware of. In fact, last year, the Kilemi Mwiria Commission was called together and it issued a report on this very same issue. On August 2014, their Report was published. It was handed to President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House in November 2014. I would like to bring it to the attention of Members of the House because somehow this Report did not formally ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: participants in the Kilemi Mwiria Report included the Chairman himself, Dr. Kilemi Mwiria, a respected expert on education issues. The Vice-Chairperson of that Commission was Dorothy Kamwiru, Principal of Alliance Girls High School and the Head of the National Schools Principals Forum. Mr. William Sossion, one of the leaders of Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), also signed this Report. I believe I have 15 minutes? view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: This Report was signed by all the important people here. When we say we need to implement it, this is the time. The Report has suggested and proposed that day secondary schools will cost no more than Kshs 24,000 with parents paying Kshs 11,000 and the Government paying Kshs 12,000. Boarding secondary schools will cost no more than Kshs 52,000 and parents will only pay Kshs 39,000 and the Government will pay Kshs 12,000. It begs the question why we are allowing head teachers to be the biggest extortion cartel in this country and to deny the children the right ... view