Nyandarua Governor Kiarie Badilisha has been grilled by Senators for not backing Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) in the county for the last three years.
At his hearing before the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, the governor was not able to explain why, although KSh12.5 million was allocated for ECDE capitation in the current financial year, the county was still not able to meet the needs of young learners, leaving the parents to carry the burden.
Governor Badilisha attributed the blame to the county assembly, alleging that the latter’s failure to approve a vital policy document had caused a delay in the ECDE programme.
“The money has been allocated but since the policy framework has not been passed, we are not able to issue the funds,” the governor told the committee.
However, the Senators wanted to know why different schools were employing clerical staff to work as ECDE teachers while the law was being violated.
The committee observed that the number of unqualified clerical staff in the classrooms was significantly higher than the number of duly trained ECDE teachers employed by the county.
The MPs lamented over the fact that the county’s continued disregard for early learning was risking the quality of education of children at the foundational level. The committee will be issuing the recommendations on the subject after they have deliberated further.
