The Ministries of Education and Health are partnering to register parents and learners in schools to the Taifa Care being administered by the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Learning was halted in public schools in Mombasa for the exercise to be conducted by Community Health Promoters.
The parents accompanied their children to school for the registration that will ensure equity in access to healthcare as no one will be left behind.
Education CS Julius Ogamba said the Ministry is also taking data on learners who lack birth certificates for the Ministry of Interior to start issuing birth certificates.
“This exercise is important because a healthy nation is a working nation. We need a nation that is doing well in terms of education and health,” stated Ogamba at Migadini Junior Secondary School (JSS)
The CS commissioned 11 JSS classrooms built through the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning Program (KPEEL) in Changamwe Sub-County at Umoja St. Charles Lwanga and Migadini schools.
Migamba confirmed that the transition from Grade Six to Grade Seven has been seamless in most of the schools he visited.
At Umoja JSS for instance, 176 sat for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment and only six have not reported.
The area chief was ordered to track down the missing learners to ensure a 100 per cent transition.
The CS said they are using the whole-of-government approach to provide services to the citizenry.
“We are doing everything possible to ensure that our people get the services that they require,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the CS admitted that the first term had suffered delays in the disbursement of capitation to schools.
“We are supposed to receive Sh48 billion, we were able to receive Sh19 billion Wednesday, which has been disbursed and another Sh15 billion or so will be released tomorrow,” said the CS.
He continued: “We are in the process of completing that Sh48 billion in one or two weeks to ensure all our schools have got the resources.”
The Head Teachers were directed not to send the learners home as the funds had been disbursed and some schools have started to receive the money.
The CS allayed fears that there are not enough JSS teachers saying that the government has so far employed 76,000 teachers and 70,000 teachers have been retooled by the Teachers Service Commission.
“We have ensured that in each JSS there are a number of teachers capable of ensuring learning is going on. We have also provided the books. For example, in this school all the books that are required for each subject have arrived. Each student has a book in each subject in a ratio of one to one,” said the CS.
The Ministry of Education has constructed 14500 against a target of 16000 JSS classrooms. The remaining classrooms will be completed before the end of January.
“This year we are starting the construction of 1600 laboratories to ensure that the JSS students have access to laboratories and are exposed to science subjects so that when they go on the pathway of STEM they are not completely green,” stated the CS.
The CS further revealed that plans are underway to construct 7800 JSS classrooms to ensure all schools have adequate infrastructure.
By Sadik Hassan