Teachers have been called upon to take up seriously their roles as mentors to children in their early years of school as the values they instill in them molds them to be responsible citizens capable of fostering change and development for the County.
Kajiado County Governor Joseph Ole Lenku said this while presiding over a closing ceremony for a capacity building workshop for county ECDE teachers at Athi River. The training which comes as a priority objective by the County Department of Education and Vocational Training sought to equip the teachers with requisite knowledge on key concepts as outline in the competency based curriculum manuals by The Kenya Literature Bureau.
“We take pride in knowing that when we empower our ECDE teachers in capacity building and skills development trainings we are creating enable mentors who will harness and impact knowledge to our children,” said the Governor.
He added that teachers were the most important stakeholders in the education sector and his government has committed to ensure that the gains made in empowering them are not eroded by inflation.
The governor intimated that the county government will set aside a budget to cater for medical care for those who cannot afford it. This initiative he said is meant to reinforce the Mbuzi Moja Afya Moja medical insurance program spearheaded by the National Hospital Insurance Fund, NHIF. The program hopes to ensure universal health care to all residents of Kajiado County in line with the health pillar of the big four agenda of the Jubilee Government.
Further, he said plans are underway to issue 5000 needy families with NHIF Cards that will give them access to medical care in their health facilities of choice within the county.
At the same time Lenku challenged teachers to further their education and explore technical skills development to access self-employment opportunities.
“Kajiado County will soon become the hub of skilled training for available job markets countrywide, soon we will have our people being exported to other counties to offer their professional expertise,” he said.
Speaking at the same function the CECM in charge of Education and Vocational Training, Samuel Seki lauded the Kenya Literature Bureau(KLB) for being accommodative as to cut costs on the competency based curriculum literature books. He said together with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, KICD these two institutions have not only upgraded the levels of our education in the county but ensured children receive all round education.” We have not only empowered you (teachers) to be ECDE teachers but to be able to teach at various levels including primary schools,” said Seki.
He recommended the ECDE teachers for playing a pivotal role in the success of the County school feeding Initiative the Uji Program by ensuring that the children have their daily meals without fail.
