Dr. Valerian Kilemi Mwiria

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 761 to 770 of 862.

• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) I would like to confirm that, since the introduction of free primary education, there has been an increase in enrolment nearing two million. Before 2002, the enrolment in public primary schools stood at 5.9 million. However, by July 2006, the enrolment stood at 7.5 million. That is an increment of 1.6 million pupils. There is a further increase of about 500,000 pupils in public schools. We also have about 300,000 children who enroled in non-formal institutions. (b) In terms of coping with the transition rate from primary schools to secondary ... view
• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Question has been recurring in Parliament for quite some time now. Unfortunately, we have not been able to recruit as many teachers as we would like! But we have requested hon. Members to bear with us. In some cases, we are requesting parents to employ the additional teachers. If they can do that, that would be very much appreciated until the situation improves to the extent that we are able to recruit enough teachers for both primary and secondary schools. However, there are some schools that have more teachers than they need. We are ... view
• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are still negotiating with the Treasury to get some more money. In fact, that money will be allocated by this Parliament as well. So, I would just like to ask hon. Members to bear with us. Even in my constituency, I have the same problems just like other hon. Members. But it is not possible to employ all the teachers that we need for the time being. So, I call upon hon. Members and communities to assist us alleviate the problem as we prepare to finally do away with it. view
• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is one of the recommendations that I have made. It is in the long answer that Dr. Ali referred to. We are encouraging schools to start day streams as a way of making it possible for those who cannot afford boarding expenses to enrol. view
• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, again the issue of universities is a major one! We are thinking more in terms of long-term solutions to expand the capacity in our universities. We have considered the possibility of having more institutions and day-time universities, so that we could enrol more university students. We do not want a situation where we enrol university students on the basis of how many spaces we have for accommodation. We want to take universities closer to the people. We are very much concerned as a Ministry. We have come up with several strategies that we hope to ... view
• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I realised that there were many Questions on the Order Paper. I read the section that was directly related to the Question that Dr. Ali asked. The rest of the answer contains related information. But if you want me to read and spend a little bit more time, it is not a big problem. It is written! view
• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, given that we cannot employ teachers, we have decided to make more efficient the use of the teachers that we have got. One way of doing this is to have them teach double shifts as opposed to teaching only in the morning. So, you have a group that teaches in the morning and another one in the afternoon. Multi-stage is whereby a teacher can teach different groups at the same time to ensure that there is maximum utilisation of the teachers that we have got. It is not just politicisation. The hon. Member knows that ... view
• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) I am not aware that both primary and secondary schools inspection programmes in Machakos District have lagged behind. However, I am aware that not as many inspections as we would like have taken place. (b) School inspection in Machakos District is continuous and functions normally. There are formal and informal visits by Quality and Standards Officers, Education Officers, TAC Tutors and other education officials, to enhance the provision of quality education. Moreover, schools can be visited as many times as possible if there is an emergency request in that regard. ... view
• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to make it clear that we have a problem with inspectors and Quality Assurance Officers in the whole country. This Question that seeks to know when we will get more of these inspectors, so that we can inspect our schools more often than is the case has come up in this House before. We are improving their terms and conditions of service so that we can recruit many more of them. Nevertheless, some work has been taking place in Machakos. In 2005, 795 schools were inspected. In 2006, 834 schools were inspected. In ... view
• 20 Jul 2006 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I do appreciate the point made by the hon. Member which has been made many times. At the outset, I indicated that we are addressing this problem by improving the terms and conditions of service of Quality Assurance Officers so that they can enter employment in Job Group "M" as a way of attracting many more of them. We have already started the process and we have advertised some positions. In the near future, we will have a lot of interest. So, we will have more Quality Assurance Officers because they will be paid well. ... view