Senators’ Concerns on Low University, TVET Transition in Mombasa

By Mwakwaya Raymond

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

Senate education committee has issued a seven day ultimatum to Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir to produce a report detailing last year’s student transition from secondary schools to universities and TVETs.

The committee, which is in Mombasa, to conduct oversight on the status of early childhood development education (ECDE) and technical and vocational education training (TVET) institutions says only 20 percent of 2024 form four candidates joined universities this year.

“As you are aware, the transition is part of our greatest concerns and that’s what we are following up here. You are aware that is one of the issues brought up by the Gen-Zs last year and I am sure we will advise the government on what needs to be done,” said Betty Montent, the chair.

According to her asking the governor why and where is the 80 percent of university students who did not join universities.

“So every county has to be very careful to deal with this. We are looking forward to the county giving us a future plan.”

She raised queries and concerns on the emergence of criminal juvenile gangs in the county that has become a serious security issue.

“The foundation of our children is very very important and also what we do without Gen Z after form four those who don’t make it to university is also very important as a committee or as a country.”

The committee demanded a detailed report indicating budget allocation to the ECDE education and its expenditure.

The senators however expressed their satisfaction with the feeding programs initiated by the county government asking other counties to emulate the same.

“What we are most interested in is the budget so that we can know whether they are using the education budgets correctly, and what the future plans they have so that as we sit as a committee we can know what the government can do to help the county.”

In his respond, governor Nassir defended his administration saying that the number of students joining public ECDE schools rose from 8,000 to 10,000 students due to the school feeding plan.

According to him only 210 ECDE teachers are permanent and punishable while a total of 132 teachers are on contracts. 

“Some of the teachers who are on Permanent and Pensionable are those who joined the profession a long time ago while those on contracts were the ones who joined recently.”

Through a report, he said the teacher pupil ratio is 1:49 or in other cases 1:97 in the county.

Mombasa has public schools ECDE centers where the county pays 3,200 capitation per student.

The governor said each child was entitled to Sh30 per day in the food feeding program.

“There is a big worry with our transition,but as a county we are doing much with skills mtaani and other programs,we have a stawisha law with the assembly that we are developing and that will streamline everything.”

On capitation, he says the county pays Sh3,200 per child to cater for learning materials.

Nassir said the county has a budget to streamline ECDE programme with some of its funds coming as conditional grants.

“A considerable chunk of resources is put in education, and most of the budgets are from various sources.”

Apart from the chair Mottet, other committee members present were Senators Jones Mwaruma (Taita Taveta), Prof Margret Kamar (nominated) and Mohamed Faki (Mombasa).

According to the governor his administration inherited 12 centers which were under construction from the former administration. One being at Chaani and another at Marimani which are 96 percent complete.

The county has 94 ECDE managed by the county and 24 special needs schools while the private registered ECDEs are 955 that has a population of 44,820 learners.

On policy, the senators were shocked when the governor stated that it depends on precolonial period education policy on ECDE.

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