Excitement filled Embu top Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) schools after nine schools from the county made it to the 94th finals of the National Music Festivals.
The nine schools booked their place at the coveted event after emerging the best in the Eastern Regional Music festivals held at Kitui Technical Institute recently.
The Kenya Music Festivals that was on a two-year break following the outbreak of the Covid-19 is set to take place at Maseno University, Kisumu County on September 16-17.
Mwea and Micegethiu ECDE schools who are the national defending champions in the singing and choral verse categories are hopeful of retaining their titles even as they head to Kisumu for the National Music Festivals.
Jeremiah Ireri County Director of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) in Embu said that he is optimistic of Mwea and Micegethiu ECDE schools in Embu defending their titles because of the preparations that the trainers have put in place and because of the good funding from the county government of Embu.
The Director of ECDE also added that he is hopeful that Mwea and Micegethiu ECDE will be staging their performance before President Dr. William Ruto at the Kisumu State house with the state concert being held on September 24.
Ireri said that Mwea and Micegethiu ECDE performed at Nakuru State House before the president in 2019 after they emerged the best in the National Music Festivals held at Nakuru County.
He said that the County Government of Embu has always been on the forefront of implementing the CBC co-curricular to ensure that the ECDE classes participate in the extracurricular activities mainly in music, drama and sports.
“The County Government of Embu has always been on the forefront of implementing the CBC curriculum to ensure that the ECDE classes participate in the extracurricular activities mainly in music, drama and sports,” he said.
Ireri further said that the County Government has always funded the extracurricular activities by ensuring that the materials needed are available and meeting other logistic measures that are always needed.
The Director said that Governor Cecily Mbarire is passionate about ECDE and vocational training centres and added that the governor is in the process of scaling up the funding in ECDE in order to boost the sector.
He said scaling up the funding will help them to be able to purchase more CBC compliant learning materials.
Other schools that have made it for the National Music Festivals from Embu are Iveche ECDE, Kirima ECDE, Mashamba ECDE and Mbuinjeru ECDE.
The nine ECDE schools will be competing in singing games, choral verse and set pieces.
By Justus Anzaya
