Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha has warned lazy contractors who have not completed government project of construction of CBC classrooms especially in Bungoma County that action will be taken against them including risking their contract being terminated and awarded to other contractors.
Addressing journalists at St. Mathews ACK secondary school in Webuye town after holding an indoor meeting with contractors and school principals drawn from Bungoma County, Magoha said Bungoma County is not different from other Counties that have already completed the CBC classrooms.
“We have held a consultative meeting with contractors, teachers and stakeholders and we have decided that we shall complete the classrooms in Bungoma by Sunday this week because Bungoma child is like any other Kenyan child and that we shall not allow extraneous and external influence to interfere with the very noble objective of ensuring that Bungoma child is given a wonderful place of learning, ” said Prof. Magoha.
He added that it’s interesting Bungoma County that has a bigger population of children in the country followed by Kakamega County and is a fertile area of the country and that’s why the County has more than three hundred and sixteen CBC classrooms being constructed to accommodate the larger number and they must be completed in time and wonders how Rift valley region with higher number of CBC classrooms have already completed yet Bungoma County still has those that have not been completed.
“We have agreed that by Sunday all CBC classrooms must have been completed and will come back any day before Sunday just to confirm if the contractors are done with construction,” added Prof. Magoha.
In terms of money being paid in schools, CS Magoha said that it’s very interesting that the government has always released money in schools ahead of opening of the term and warned principals who are complaining of money that the latest money will be released to schools soon adding that the government has money.
“It’s my duty to ensure that government money is used for the purpose that’s meant for and that government gets value for its money so this agitation for money to be paid in schools is fake and that the money that had been paid has not been completed and every child has a capitation of 22400 shillings and that is given in several installments and so you cannot say that money has not been released to primary and secondary schools, ” he stated
On the issue of the Competent Based Curriculum (CBC) Magoha said that as a government they are prepared to handle it even in secondary schools and appreciated the political class for accepting that CBC is there to stay.
He said that he is pleased that all big political players have accepted that CBC will be there and only a few changes here and there will be effected to give learners the best saying it’s important for the Kenyan children and criticized that 8-4-4 was exam and cramming oriented and very unfortunate syllabus to have been brought forward to Kenyan people.
The CS was accompanied by several officials from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government where he also opened CBC classrooms in St. Mathews ACK secondary school.