The Government has been urged to set aside funds to support the activities of Amani Peace Clubs and recognize it as one of extra-curricular activities in schools.
The National Organizing Secretary of Amani Peace Clubs Kenya Kennedy Kunani also called upon the government to support in organizing debating competitions.
Kunani was speaking to KNA after arriving from Tanzania where they took a group of students to participate in the Dar Open Debate & Public speaking Championship that brought together students from the East Africa Region.
“Amani Clubs are there to promote peaceful coexistence in our learning institutions and this is one way of us extending this objective outside our country. As students interact with others from other regions, I think this is the only way we are able to build a stronger East Africa and this is how we are able to achieve integration in the easiest way possible,” he noted.
The Patron of Amani Peace clubs who is also a teacher at Tigoi girls Mercy Gitonga said that through the Amani Debate, students are able to learn values and virtues that are enhanced through peace, love and unity.
The Chief Principal of Kangubiri Girls High School Rael Makena urged the Ministry of Education to recognize and treat Amani Peace clubs as one of the extra-curricular activities in schools like Drama, Music and sports to increase participation of schools.
“I would appeal to the Ministry of Education to fully support the peace clubs, maybe elevate the Amani clubs to the level of the sports in Kenya, level of drama and music. If all schools are brought on board, I believe that we can do better,” she noted.
The Principal of Tigoi Girls High School, who is also the Chairperson Debating and Amani Clubs Vihiga County, Linda Zalo noted that organizing the activities of Peace Clubs to the level of participating in East Africa Competition has been costly.
“The cost of transporting participants is quite high, the cost of offering subsistence is equally very high, then there is the cost of processing their documents in readiness for the process and even the cost of running the research program because the questions, the items that have to be discussed require a lot of research,” she added.
“I think that it would be good that going forward as we think of embracing global partnership and we think of embracing CBC, it would be nice to see the Ministry of Education consider that Amani and debating clubs are also budgeted for as we budget for other co-curricular activities,” she added.
The Organizing Secretary of the Dar Open Debate and Public Speaking Championship Dominic Famba said that they were able to find some commonalities of knowledge and experiences despite the difference in the Kenyan and Tanzanian education systems.
“The Kenyan education system is quite different from the Tanzanian one but we found a commonality of knowledge and experiences that have brought students to debate on topical issues from the East African Community, Africa and abroad where they interrogated issues that are of global importance,” he noted.
By Moses Wekesa