Nyeri leaders have called on the Ministry of Education to change the midterm break dates to boost attendance on the Scouts Founder's Day celebrations.
Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu said the midterm break has been coinciding with the event for the last three years.
He urged ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru, who was present, to reach out to his Education counterpart to change midterm dates.
The Scouts Movement was started by Lord Baden Powell whose was buried in Nyeri town. The movement celebrates him on February 22 every year.
Wambugu said a lot of schools were not able to attend the event held on Saturday at the Lord Baden Powell’s grounds because they were on the midterm break.
“Founder's Day cannot be changed. It has to be February 22 and so we need to do something about the school calendar. During our time, we would have an average of 7,000 to 10,000 children coming for the event,” he said.
Barely 2,000 attend the event lately, while the highest number that ever attended the event was 40,000.
“We need to organise ourselves better. Most scouts are children and the only opportunity they get to come for the Founder’s Day is when they are in school,” he said.
Mucheru said the government is committed in finding a way to support the scouts.
He promised to reach out to the Education CS George Magoha and present the issue.
“We are going to ensure that we work closely with the rest of government including the Ministry of Education so that we ensure that the Scouts Founder's Day respected,” he said.
Mucheru said the government appreciates what the Kenya Scouts Association is doing in enhancing peaceful coexistence in the country.
“The peace ambassadors in the movement initiating projects in conflict areas are very important in building a cohesive society,” he said.
He also applauded the conservation initiative by the movement for planting and nurturing 20 million trees across the country.
The movement targets 47 million trees planted by the end of this year.
The CS also encouraged the scouts’ movement to submit their proposals to the BBI team so that they can be entrenched in the country’s policies.
“This is so that our young people also significantly benefits,” he said
Governor Mutahi Kahiga said his government is ready to revive camping sites if the scouts’ movement can show vibrancy in their activities.
He said there are so many competing needs within government where if you are not available or vibrant, then you cannot benefit from government resources.
Deputy Governor Caroline Karugu said the scouts need someone who is in government who speaks directly to the President to champion their issues.
She said this is because the scouts at times have to work under various ministries among them the Ministry of Tourism and that of Education.
Saturday marked the 163 birthday of Lord Baden Powell.
The Kenya Scouts Association has registered a population of 2.1 million boys and girls scouts and is ranked first in Africa and sixth in the world.
