Matiang'i likens governors to Christopher Columbus

Fred Matiang'i (left), the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Science and Technology, with Azida Ali (right), who is Busia's County Executive Committee Member for Education and Vocational Training, and FunKidz chief executive officer Wanjiru Waweru in Kisumu on September 26, 2016. PHOTO | TOM OTIENO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The CS said the governors were spending millions of shillings on overseas trips at the expense of funding Early Childhood Development Education.

  • Columbus was an Italian-born navigator who sailed in the service of Spain and is said to have been the first European to sail to America.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on Monday gave a dressing down to governors for doing little in the education sector, likening them to Christopher Columbus.

The CS said the governors were spending millions of shillings on overseas trips at the expense of funding early childhood development education.

“You have become Christopher Columbus with your several travels,” said Dr Matiang’i. “The national government has offered free primary and day secondary school education, yet the county governments still want us to finance the ECDEs.

Columbus was an Italian-born navigator who sailed in the service of Spain and is said to have been the first European to sail to America.

“It is only fair for the counties to stop their luxurious overseas trips for benchmarking and support early childhood education.”

Dr Matiang’i was presiding over the official opening of a two-day national ECDE conference organised by the government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu Town.

The CS said he had visited some institutions that had put up ECDE structures, whose value was not commensurate with the huge amounts of money spent on the construction.

“The national government has shown a very good example in funding education,” he said. “You, county governments, with the money you use to go to Israel, Dubai, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia... why don’t you provide it for ECDE for the sake of our children?”

Dr Matiang’i addressed education officials from the national and county governments, including directors of education and County Executive Committee members for education from various counties.

WAS REPRESENTED

Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma, who was expected to host the CS, did not attend and was represented by Education Executive Jenipher Kere.

The governor was in Sweden last week and is expected to fly to Turkey and Singapore before the end of next month.

“For us, we have a national responsibility for free primary and day secondary education, and the counties must take up the ECDE role,” said Dr Matiang’i.

He called on the Council of Governors to declare that, following the “good example” by the national government, we shall also offer free ECDE.

“You, with your good money,” said Dr Matiang’i, adding: “Even if you look at how you live with the convoy of vehicles that you have and the parties you host, you don’t look like you are poor. You throw parties that we cannot afford as national government. President Uhuru Kenyatta would not allow us to go for benchmarking overseas because of the huge expenses involved.”

The CS announced that they had aligned the management and co-ordination of education functions with the Interior ministry. He said his ministry had appointed eight regional co-ordinators for education countrywide — in Nyanza, western, Rift Valley, eastern, northeastern, Nairobi, central and the coastal regions.

Dr Matiang’i also made an impromptu visit to Joel Omino Secondary School, where he engaged students and teachers.