Dr. Valerian Kilemi Mwiria

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 611 to 620 of 862.

• 30 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is a very fair request. We shall try that in the next Parliament. view
• 30 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the invitation is okay but not with string attached that we have to come up with some money immediately. I can visit the school, but I will not promise immediate release of money. We will do that when there are resources. view
• 29 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) I am aware that the performance of Machakos District has been fluctuating nationally and comparatively in terms of the mean scores in KCSE since 2003 at the mean grade of C- on average, as follows: In 2003, the mean grade was 4.08; in 2004, it was 4.57 and in 2005, it was 4.60; some improvement but still a very poor average. In a comparative performance by province in selected districts, Machakos ranked No.54 nationally last year compared to Tharaka which was No.1, Bondo No.5 and so on. Essentially, Machakos was one ... view
• 29 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: (c) In 2005, a total of 2,286 out of 11,194 or 19 per cent of the candidates scored a mean grade of C+ and above, which qualifies one to university. But unfortunately, even though that was the number, only 284 students from the schools registered in that district actually qualified for university. 4032 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 29, 2006 view
• 29 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, going by the minimum qualification, which is C+ (Plus), it means that only slightly more than 2,000 students qualified to join our universities. Unfortunately, only 284 students made it. As we all know, admission to our public universities is tied to available spaces, especially accommodation. What we are hoping to do is to expand opportunities by opening more campuses and expanding opportunities within the existing universities to ensure that more of the students who qualify make it. That is going to be a long-term measure. It is still a problem because many of those who are ... view
• 29 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in all districts in the country we are working with the District Education Boards (DEBs) to initiate some measures especially related to inspection. We need to do our best to support all schools. Secondly, we are also looking at the problem of management of our learning institutions and, where necessary, identifying the right managers to manager the institutions. More importantly, it is really the issue of inspection. We are, therefore, working closely with the DEBs to ensure that we do our very best. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are also providing resources for schools that fall ... view
• 29 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have a programme for support of teachers, both in secondary and primary schools, in hardship areas. They receive 35 per cent of the total package. I have said before that with regard to hardship areas, we are doing a harmonisation together with the civil service in general to ensure that other areas that had been left out, but deserve to be part of the hardship programme are included. This is the only way to attract the best teachers because they will feel that there is an incentive. view
• 29 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, DEOs are trained from time to time. We call them November 29, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4033 for seminars that we organise. Again, they are inspected by senior officers from the provinces and quality assurance people from the headquarters. I can see the hon. Member denying that fact. However, I wonder why he was asking me the question if he already knew the answer. view
• 29 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the decision on whether a day school should be transformed into a boarding school or not is made by individual school managers, parents and the BOGs. This is also communicated to the DEBs. So, really, it is not the Ministry's decision. What we are doing as a Ministry is to encourage the establishment of more day schools because we realised that they are cheaper for parents. If a school becomes a boarding institution, no levy can be charged until the DEB approves the levy. view
• 29 Nov 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we would very much like to consider that because we realise that it is a big problem. For primary schools, you are aware that we have the school feeding programme. So, we would like to do what the hon. Member has said. We would also like to do that for a lot of our children who are orphaned and cannot make it through secondary school. We need to come up with resources from somewhere to do that. I can, however, assure this august House that, that is one matter that disturbs us a great deal and ... view