NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 23 — Head of Public Service and Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, Felix Koskei, has cautioned parents in Marsabit County who do not take their children to school that they will be arrested and prosecuted.
“We want your children to be doctors, but this cannot happen when your kids are not going to school,” he said on Saturday in Kargi, Loiyangalani sub-county, Laisamis constituency.
He ordered the local administration officials to take firm action against parents who refuse to deny their children education opportunities, which is a right guaranteed by the constitution.
Koskei is on a two-day familiarization tour of development projects in the vast county.
He noted a peculiar trend in the county where there is a higher number of girls enrolled at primary and secondary levels.
However, the region has also witnessed high drop out rates among girls due to early marriages and teen pregnancies.
He was accompanied by Principal Secretaries Raymond Omollo (Interior), Eng. Joseph Mbugua (Roads), and Dr. Idris Dakota (Arid and Semi-Arid Lands).
He promised to lead efforts build a girls boarding school in Kargi and cut the long distances girls from the area travel in search of education.
He urged the youth from the area to take of the cheap loans offered by the government’s Hustler Fund to start businesses and improve their livelihoods.
Koskei said he will liaise with the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) and ensure that the health centres in the region are well stocked.
PS Omollo said that police reservists will be deployed to the region soon to boost security, and that the Korr sub-county, which was gazetted last year will be operationalised within three weeks.
PS Mbugua said the Hulahula- Kargi- Loyangalani road will be upgraded to murram standard.
He donated textbooks to four primary schools and a secondary and relief food worth Sh7 million.
Others present during the event include area MP Joseph Lekuton, Sunya Orre(CAS nominee, ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation), and Cecilia Ngoyoni, Director of Constitutional and Legislative Affairs, the Executive Office of the President.
