By Kese Werugha
More than 300 children from Mwawesa Ward in Rabai Sub-County have not been able to join their early childhood education due to lack of learning centers.
Despite Kilifi County Government allocating funds to construct Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres during the 2013/2014 financial year, the completion is yet to be done.
Speaking at the site for the proposed Kakoneni ECDE centre during an inspection tour, Mwawesa MCA Caroline Kalume said the region has nothing to smile for after the five years of devolution.
“Quality education that will lead to good performance for our children in this area has been my agenda. It is sad that since I started my inspection tour to assess ECD centres, I have found out that many projects are stalled, there is no single center that can serve our children,” said Kalume.
Kalume expressed her disappointment saying that children have been denied their right to access education and a number of them have been forced to stay at home or walk longer distances in search schools.
She said: “Bedida, Mikahani, Ndunduni and JK Baya ECD projects have all stalled since 2013; our children are being subjected to harsh learning environment. There are no learning facilities, and children are forced to sit on stones in classes available while writing on pieces of papers placed on their thighs.”
Kilifi County has a total of 345 centres, out of which 193 centres are complete and last month MCAs passed a law to have each department allocated fund to manage its activities.
