NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 8 – Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu says recommendations made in the Presidential Party Report on Education Reform appointed in September last year will help re-invigorate improvement of the education sector.
The CS noted that the clustering of students joining teaching colleges has been a major challenge that hinders more qualified learners from joining higher institutions of learning.
“I know there is a cluster that says one must have a C in Mathematics, English Language, Sciences, Humanities; this has proven to present an obstacle in having around 7,000 students applying for training colleges from this region; we are having less than a 1,000.”
The CS added, “The report is yet to be officially released, but it has recommendations set to help improve the sector and also ensure that more young people benefit.”
He spoke at the Aberdare Teachers Training College in Ndaragwa Constituency in Nyandarua County where he was the chief guest.
Machogu said the government was committed to supporting requirements in the improvement of school infrastructure, noting that in the last three years, the government disbursed a total of Kshs 1.4 billion to all colleges for recurrent expenditure and another Kshs. 62,495 for the development of in-service model teachers’ training and acquisition of the requisite skills knowledge and development.
A section of leaders from the region led by legislators George Gachagua, Faith Gitau and Njuguna Kiaraho wants the government to declare Ndaragwa as a hardship area owing to its harsh climate claiming it was the driest area in the County and the majority of farmers were relying on relief food.
“I have sponsored a motion through parliament for Ndaragwa to be gazetted as a hardship area so that apart from this funding, we can enjoy extra goodies from the government like other hardship areas do,” said Ndaragwa MP Gachagua.
Gitau said civil servants and teachers deployed in the area were seeking transfers to other areas since they were not benefiting from hardship allowances enjoyed by their colleagues working in areas experiencing similar climatic conditions.
“Most teachers were unwilling to take up administrative duties in schools under areas not classified as hardship regions for fear of missing the allowances. This led to most schools in gazetted hardship areas having more teachers while deserving schools in areas not yet classified as hardship zones reported an acute shortage of teachers,” Gitau said
