By Boniface Mulu
Kitui County governor Dr. Julius Makau Malombe has revealed his plans to improve the education sector in the county, with special focus on the ECDE sector.
Speaking during his swearing in ceremony at Ithookwe Show Ground, Dr Malombe revealed that he would construct modern ECDE classrooms in every public school in the county.
He revealed that all ECDE teachers would be employed under the Scheme of Service and that he would work with the national government to improve primary and secondary schools’ infrastructure.
“We will also install WI-FI in every youth polytechnic in the county,” he promised.
The governor also talked of his achievements as the first governor of Kitui county adding that at the time he was leaving the helm of the county in 2017, he had implemented 5,294 projects throughout the county.
He said Kitui county was the first county in Kenya to initiate the pro-poor support programme to keep thousands of needy students in school by providing them with bursaries.
“We were also the first to start paying stipends to Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers, a move that led to a 30 percent increase in the number of children enrolling in ECDE schools,” he said.
He proudly said Kitui was the first country to train and help in the certification of 2,000 new contractors by the National Construction Authority (NCA) and empower the newly trained contractors with knowledge and skills to take up jobs in and outside the county.
“ The county government also encouraged and facilitated the trained contractors to associate in teams of 3-4 persons resulting in the registration of 380 business partnerships to enable them to be pre-qualified for different levels of tenders and contracts,” Malombe, who is also an architect by profession, said.
He said Kitui County was awarded a trophy by the ICT Association of Kenya in 2014 for being the best county in embracing and utilizing modern ICT technology in an event attended by County ICT Ministries from across the country.
“Kitui led all the Kenya’s 47 counties in the establishment of 19 fully fledged ICT centers,” he said.
He further said the Kitui County pioneered in partnering with South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU) in research, innovation and training.
The county also provided practical and internship opportunities for SEKU students in the field of health sciences.
Malombe said the Kitui County rose from the bottom ranks in the Kenya’s national examination to the top echelons within three years (from 2013 to 2016).
“This was achieved through the initiation of the transformative programmes in the education sector with participation of the national government.” He said.
