- The report states that most of the centres lack staffrooms for teachers.
- The teachers, are poorly remunerated with the report showing that about 30,000 out of the more than 42,000 tutors under contracts.
Image: FELIX KIPKEMOI
Some early childhood education pupils are learning in small and congested makeshift classrooms made of iron sheets.
They lack access to washroom and, in some instances, borrow facilities from neighbouring villagers.
The revelations are contained in a Senate report that exposed the horrible state of the some Early Childhood and Development Education centres in the county where young children, aged below five, learn.
The report by the Senate Education committee that investigated the status of the centres following a petition, was tabled in the House last week.
“We treat very little children badly,” the report tabled by committee chairperson Alice Milgo reads in part.
It adds, “We discovered that some of the ECDE centres did not have wash materials and, therefore, the little children are just given a tiny classroom made of mabatis.”
The report states that most of the centres lack staffrooms for teachers.
The teachers, are poorly remunerated with the report showing that about 30,000 out of the more than 42,000 tutors are under contracts.
“There are 42,457 ECDE teachers employed by the county governments. Out of this, only 13,502 are on permanent and pensionable terms while the remaining 28,955 are employed on contracts,” it said.
About 4,563 caregivers who are engaged are remunerated by school management boards or Parents Association.
The report adds that in some centres, children are sent home to get Sh5 to pay teachers who are paid under the parent and teachers association arrangement.
“Whereas the CoG issues advisory to county governments on implementation of ECDE teachers’ schemes of service, only eight county governments have fully implemented them.
Preprimary education is under the management of the devolved units.
“Sixteen are reported to be at the finalising stage to bring on board all the teachers that are based on the scheme of service,” it states.
The reports states that three county governments have not initiated any process at all to implement ECDE teachers’ scheme of service.
“Therefore, there are only 23 county governments that are paying ECDE teachers what I call a stipend,” Milgo said.
It shows that most of the centres have been neglected by both the national and county government with no budget for paying the teachers and for development.
The senators say that unlike the primary and secondary schools where the government has been busy developing CBC curriculum, nothing has been done for the ECDE even though it is the foundation of knowledge.
“You realise that ECDE is the foundation of education. The CBC will be a nightmare for those children to be able to understand what is going on in the upper classes without a proper foundation in ECDE,” the chairperson said.
We need to stamp our authority as a House to ensure the county governments take up the issues of ECDE teachers with the seriousness it deserves.
The report recommended to the Council of Governors, TSC and KICD to establish modalities and create a collaboration framework on ECDE teachers’ management, career progression and capacity building.
The agencies, the committee demanded, files a report to the House within 90 days on the progress made in implementing the recommendations.
The panel also asked the county governments in collaboration with their respective county assemblies to enact legislations to increase annual budgetary allocation to the ECDE sector.
They want at least 10 per cent of the county revenue dedicated towards the ECDE.
-Edited by SKanyara