- He wants the capitation per student in primary schools increased from the current Sh1,420 per year to at least Sh7,760.
- Muriu said his Motion will breathe new life into Article 27 of the Constitution on equity and freedom from discrimination.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Gatanga MP Edward Wakili Muriu wants capitation for learners in primary and junior secondary schools increased to cater for meals.
In a Motion before the National Assembly, Muriu further wants the scope of the education bursary scheme under the National-Government Constituency Development Fund reviewed to support school feeding programmes.
Muriu said his Motion will breathe new life into Article 27 of the Constitution on equity and freedom from discrimination.
“Every child must be given quality education. Every child is also entitled to quality nutrition. The two go hand in hand,” he explained.
He noted that the Ministry of Education was allocated Sh628 billion in the current budget but a minimal amount goes towards school feeding programmes.
“We cannot talk about quality education when we are not providing good nutrition to our children. When children 10 years and below don’t get proper nutrition, their brains could be stunted,” he stated.
Apart from damaging their learning ability, child hunger affects school enrollment and attendance too, Muriu said.
The Gatanga MP further wants the Government to revise the capitation per student in primary schools from the current Sh1,420 per year to at least Sh7,760, citing the new CBC education system and the prevailing high cost of living.
He added that the NG-CDF Board in each constituency should approve additional allocation to the education bursary scheme to support teaching and learning-related activities associated with CBC education including school feeding programmes.
“The education bursary schemes under section 48 of the National Government Constituency Development Fund Act, 2015 be extended to support learners in Primary and Junior Secondary Schools to cater for Competency-Based Curriculum requirements,” he stated.
According to Save the Children- a leading humanitarian organization, 26 per cent of Kenyan children suffer stunted growth due to malnutrition.
Nairobi is set to see the largest school meals programme in Africa, an undertaking aimed at eliminating the "shame of hunger" and providing daily lunches for scores of primary school children.
The school feeding programme will see new kitchens providing 400,000 daily lunches for children in 225 primary schools and Early Childhood Development centres in the capital city.
It is a collaboration between Nairobi County and Food4educatuin, which already supplies meals to 150,000 primary schoolchildren in the city.
The national government has also pledged to allocate more funding to school feeding programmes to increase the reach to 4 million children from 1.6 million.
President William Ruto has promised to increase the allocation of more counties contributed, pledging to match shilling for shilling.
In his Motion, Muriu noted that the NG-CDF Board has only been approving bursary support for secondary and tertiary education and not primary schools and the recently created Junior Secondary Schools.
He said failing to extend bursaries to primary and Junior Secondary Schools on the assumption that the two levels of education are ‘free’ is a misnomer since the Government’s capitation per pupil is inadequate to cater for the mandatory materials required CBC.