Over 50 primary schools in Emuhaya subcounty have received free face masks, sanitiser and water cans from MP Omboko Milemba.
The items worth Sh300,000 will help the learners stay safe in school.
Milemba said the Ministry of Education should provide masks, sanitiser and water points within schools to create easy time and an enabling environment for learners.
"The government has a lot of money, so the CS for Education should not complicate things and gamble with lives of learners amid Covid-19," the MP said.
“Education is a national government function and slashing only Sh3 billion from its budget for water points in schools, masks and sanitiser will not cripple its activities,” the lawmaker said. “Sh3 billion is just a pocket change to the government".
The MP spoke on Monday at the constituency headquarters in Emuhaya where he met primary school heads.
"Desks were not our priority and that Sh2 billion will only benefit Timsales, who are making the desks," the MP said.
The ministry must focus on things that will sustain learners in school and protect them from the pandemic, he said.
The MP urged the Teachers Service Commission to request for more funds to hire more teachers.
"We need to have enough teachers in school to help us handle this social distance within our learning institutions," he said.
Milemba urged all heads to allow all learners in school despite their status.
“Whether they are pregnant or not, whether they have uniforms or not, let them be in class and do proper guiding and counselling for them to fit in the system as parents prepare themselves,” he said.
The school heads, however, said they have not received their funds in full.
Speaking in an open forum with the MP, they said they have received 20 per cent of the capitation instead of 30 per cent as required.
They noted that Board of Management teachers in their schools and subordinate staff have to be paid from the 20 per cent that has been disbursed.
The MP, who also serves as the Kuppet chairman, urged the government not to force secondary schools to buy rice from a single-sourced entity, saying that this will cripple school activities countrywide.
Milemba said tenders had been issued earlier under clear framework that runs upto two years.
“How do you terminate someone’s two-year contract prematurely?” Milemba posed.
“We are not against Mwea but let those tenders that were signed end first. We don’t want to see our schools being taken to court now and then over tender terminations,” he said.
