Busia County Director of Children’s Services Esther Wasige has urged parents to ensure that their children have access to education.
Speaking during the celebrations to mark the Day of the African Child at St. Catherine Special School in Butula Sub County, Wasige noted that some parents hide children with physical challenges instead of taking them to school.
“Let us allow all children of school-going age access to formal learning,” she said, calling upon stakeholders to support children with financial challenges to continue with their learning.
She at the same time challenged learners to take their studies seriously since their parents are sacrificing a lot to ensure that they are in school.
“Children should also be free to share their challenges with their parents and other leaders so that they can be assisted,” she said.
The official thanked both the national and county governments for their unwavering support of bright but needy children.
“Through the presidential bursary, we have been able to assist bright and needy students who had been forced to drop out because of school fee challenges, and some of them have made it to the university,” she said.
Wasige further disclosed that a total of nine bright but needy high school learners have been supported through the presidential bursary, and they have posted very good results.
“We also had one orphaned and physically challenged student who managed to score a mean grade of C, yet the community had given up on him,’ she said.
The director said at the same time that the Inua Jamii (cash transfer) has created stability among the benefiting families, hence creating a conducive environment for learners to go to school.
Busia Chief Magistrate Edna Nyaloti cited different cases of child abuse as a hinderance to access to education.
Nyaloti added that, through collaboration with the Children’s Department and other stakeholders, the court has been able to ensure that victims of defilement are taken back to school.
“These children had come to court as victims of sexual abuse, and through a background check, the children’s office found out these children came from very humble backgrounds, and the parents could not afford their school fees,” he said. The court is also working closely with other stakeholders to contribute funds for the vulnerable children to ensure that they are in school.
She appealed to other non-state actors to join hands in supporting the vulnerable children and ensuring that they were in school.
The programme manager of Tere Des De Homes, Dennis Ratemo, cited child labour as one of the factors affecting children’s access to and retention in learning institutions.
“Recently, we carried out research in Busia County, and our findings revealed that out of 4 out of ten children in schools, 4 undergo child labour, and 6 out of 10 children out of school engage in child labour,’ he said.
Ratemo added that some of the school-going children engage in sand harvesting every morning before going to school.
“These children do not even concentrate while at school because they are already tired from the early morning work,” he said, adding that these children are paid as little as Sh150 for filling a truck with sand.
He urged stakeholders to support children and ensure that all children are in school in accordance with the constitution.
“Carers need to support their children to monitor and ensure that they are in school,” he said, adding that there are cases of children who leave home for school but decide to engage in child labour along the way.
The official attributed child labour to poverty, hence the need for economic empowerment for vulnerable households.
Radhia Nyongesa, the Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE) Busia County representative, said that the organisation has been supporting girls in Bunyala Sub County as a way of preventing teenage pregnancies through the Imarisha Msichana Programme.
‘We are also reaching out to the boy child to ensure that education is wholesome,’ she said, adding that they have plans to expand the programme across the county.
The programme manager for Investing in Children and Society (ICS), Lavender Otieno, said that the organisation is focusing on life skills training for the children in schools to ensure that they have the right skills to speak up and know their rights.
This year’s theme is Education for All Children in Africa—the time is now.
By Salome Alwanda
