Kwale county government has operationalised over 548 Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres in a child-friendly safe environment.
The ECDE centres across the coastal county have been put up since the inception of devolution in 2013.
Area Governor Fatuma Achani says the devolved government has fully equipped the ECDE centres with learning materials and indoor and outdoor play equipment for their holistic development.
Governor Achani was speaking after officially opening the Kikoneni ECDE centre in Pongwe/ Kikoneni ward, Lungalunga sub-county.
Achani says the goal is to ensure that boys and girls have access to quality early childhood development to be ready for primary education.
“As a county we are out to help the national government in its commitment to free and compulsory basic education,” she said.
She says the devolved unit is also providing for children at the ECDE centres with fortified porridge.
The county boss says the porridge to school children from poor backgrounds will reduce cases of malnutrition and that of school dropouts.
“The nutritious cup of porridge will help the young learners to keep hunger at bay and concentrate in class and actively participate in classroom activities,” she said, adding that the move will lead to improved academic performance.
Achani urged local residents to ensure the girl child receives opportunities in education just like the boy child.
She says education was a basic right for every child in the country and girls must not be discriminated against on the basis that educating them was not beneficial.
Governor Achani says it has been her administration’s commitment to ensure that young children get the best foundation in their studies.
“As a devolved government we are striving to put ECD centres evenly across the 20 administrative wards so that our children can access quality education with ease,” she said.
Governor Achani said the county has in place a Sh500 million bursary imitative dubbed ‘Elimu Ni Sasa’ to enable bright students from impoverished backgrounds to attain secondary and tertiary education.
She says the Elimu ni Sasa bursary initiative started in 2013 has transformed the educational standards in the coastal county.
By Hussein Abdullahi
