Post: 850,000 children out of school in North Eastern region

A total of 851,045 school age children are out of school in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties.This is according to Members of Parliament from the North Eastern region under the auspices of the North Eastern Parliamentary Group caucus.In a meeting at a Mombasa hotel, the MPs decried low education levels in the northern region as the rest of the country made considerable progress in the education system.Wajir South MP Mohamed Adow said the situation was not only catastrophic but a ticking time bomb that would further alienate the region more so on the human capital development aspect.Adow said the region has historically been associated with marginalization, most prominently in the education sector.The legislator urged the national government to intervene and end decades of economic marginalization, neglect and exclusion that have denied residents their basic rights.Adow demanded that the provision of section 95 (2) (E) of the Basic Education Act of 2013 be operationalized and anchored in the basi c curriculum framework.He said the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should deploy all the teachers who have been trained and were currently jobless in the North Eastern region to end acute shortage of teachers in primary and secondary schools.'We also resolve to strengthen adult education programmes and revive low-cost boarding schools which are so far poorly funded and severely dilapidated,' he said adding that it's time to end neglect of education in the region.He said the major problems of education in the region were corruption and misplaced government priorities and policies.Adow said the education system in the north has been on a steady decline with issues ranging from shortage in qualified teachers, poor funding and decaying infrastructure in schools.Dadaab MP Farah Maalim decried the lack of access to education infrastructure and insufficient teachers in schools which he said hindered the standard of living for the residents and contributed to unequal opportunities.Maalim urged the natio nal government and other stakeholders to address critical challenges bedeviling the education sector in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties and enable residents to break free from the cycle of poverty.'The national government should resolutely be committed to addressing these challenges for the betterment of our society,' said Maalim.Eldas MP Aden Keinan noted that poor educational facilities such as classes and laboratories, limited resources, insecurity and inadequate teaching staff have been contributing to the poor performance in the region.Keinan who is the chairman of the North Eastern Parliamentary caucus said poor funding, shortage of teaching staff and poor educational facilities were to blame for the poor educational standards in the region.He said the MPs would continue to liaise with relevant stakeholders with the aim of providing lasting solutions to the falling standard of education in the north eastern region.Mandera Woman Representative Umulkheir Kassim said Garissa, Wajir and Mander a counties suffered a major shortage after most of the non-local teachers left the region citing insecurity.Source: Kenya News Agency