Local authorities in Garissa are now turning the heat on school enrollment for early childhood development Education (ECDE) classes weeks after a successful mop-up exercise to ensure 100 percent transition for form one and grade 7 students.
Spearheaded by the Assistant County Commissioner for Garissa Central, Alex Murithi, the officials have raised concerns that there has been low enrolment and no enrolment at all in some cases for the ECDE classes.
Speaking during a meeting that brought together chiefs, assistant chiefs, police, elders, and religious leaders, Murithi, expressed fears that admissions at the ECDE classes were low indicating that parents were not taking their children to school.
“We have registered an insufficient number of pupils in PP1, PP2, grade 1, and grade 2 in the County,” Murithi said.
To boost school enrollment in Garissa, the ACC together with area chiefs and children’s officers has vowed to hold barazas in the villages, mosques, and churches to urge parents to take their children to school as the government has provided capitation for free primary education.
The sub-county director of education, Ali Buthul clarified that the recent meeting came up with a new approach to urge parents to take responsibility for taking their children to basic education.
“We shall be going door to door approaching the parents and also hold meetings in the villages to make sure that learners go to school,” Buthul said.
Mustafa Abdirashid, the deputy speaker in the county assembly explained that the county reached out to the Ministry of Education on plans for school integration to help accommodate both Islamic studies and secular studies to drive the interest of parents to enroll their children in school as they believe more in madrasa education.
“We have spoken to the Ministry of Education to consider the integration of schools so that parents can easily enroll their children in basic education,” Abdirashid added.
By Abdulgani Hussein
