By K, KNA
In a move to strengthen early childhood education across Meru County, Governor Mutuma M’Ethinkia, on Friday officially launched the implementation of the ECDE Teachers’ scheme of service and the school meals and nutrition programme.
Speaking at Kinoru Stadium during the launch ceremony, Governor Mutuma acknowledged that ECDE teachers have for many years worked under difficult conditions while earning meagre salaries despite playing a critical role in nurturing tender learners and laying foundations for higher learning.
He said the newly launched scheme of service aims to correct long standing wage disparities by ensuring better salary, career progression and improved working conditions for ECDE teachers.
“For a long time, our ECDE teachers have served diligently while receiving very low salaries. The county government is now committed to ensuring they are well renumerated, motivated and respected,” Mutuma assured.
The county boss also thanked the Ministry of Education for reintroducing ECDE teacher training courses, noting that the programmes had earlier been phased out during education restructuring reforms hence creating a gap in professional training for early childhood educators, affecting the growth of ECDE learning across the country.
“The reintroduction of ECDE training courses has helped restore professionalism in early childhood education, ensuring our learners are handled by properly trained teachers,” he added.
On the school feeding initiative, Governor Mutuma noted that the introduction of meals in ECDE centres will significantly help to attract and retain learners in schools and reduce absenteeism, particularly among children from vulnerable family backgrounds.
“When learners are given meals in school, attendance will improve and concentration increases automatically,” he said.
He further reaffirmed that the Meru County Government remains committed to improving learning facilities through construction of modern classrooms, sanitation and provision of learning materials.
