- Mlolongo assistant county commissioner Punden Amos acknowledged the lack of birth certificate claims among children from his division.
- Amos said his office had been sensitizing parents from his division on the document’s importance hence the need to ensure that their children hold them.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
Machakos county teachers have raised concerns about increased numbers of children who lack birth certificates in the county.
They said the majority of search leaners were those from informal settlements or semi–urban areas of the county where parents were either semi–illiterate or ignorant.
The areas mentioned by teachers who spoke to the Star included Mlolongo, Lukenya, Mavoko and Kinanie divisions within Athi River subcounty.
They said the most affected learners were those either joining ECDE centres or lower primary.
“Most of the children come to this school without birth certificates. If you make follow-ups, you will find out that most parents don’t know the importance of the certificates hence don’t bother seeking them once children are born,” a teacher from one of the schools told the Star.
The teachers said some of the parents were clueless about where to seek the documents while others were low–income earners or completely destitute and hence didn’t have the required resources needed to process them.
“Majority of parents from Mlolongo are vulnerable hence a challenge for them to seek the documents. A child is recognized by the state as a Kenyan citizen only if he holds a birth certificate,” another teacher said.
According to the teachers, a birth certificate enables a child to have a UPI number that the government recognizes for consideration towards education support.
“If a child gets to Grade One, his learning materials including books are provided by the government to the school he is learning based on his presence in the school register. This is only possible with the availability of a birth certificate,” a teacher explained.
They advised parents with children in ECDE centres but don’t have birth certificates to process them so that by the time their children get to PP1 and PP2, they have the documents.
Mlolongo assistant county commissioner Punden Amos acknowledged the lack of birth certificate claims among children from his division.
Amos said his office had been sensitising parents from his division on the document’s importance hence the need to ensure that their children hold them.
He said according to their research, they had established that most children don’t have birth certificates in Mlolongo division.
“Majority of children especially in ECDE centres don’t have the document,” Amos told the Star in his office.
“Birth certificates are important for government functions especially while registering children in school.”
Amos said all children who have attained the school-going age must do so wherever they are and must be registered as required by the government.
He said registration of children also helps in planning for school capitation by the government.
The administrator attributed the situation to what he termed negligence among parents and guardians.
“Some of them don’t go to collect their children’s notification from hospitals where they were born to help in the processing of a birth certificate,” Amos said.
Amos said having identified the challenge, his office was sensitizing parents on the need to prioritize getting birth certificates for their children.
“We have conducted public barazas and informed parents that now they are not required to travel to Machakos town to get birth certificates for their children," Amos said.
"We have a new office that was opened last year at Athi River deputy county commissioner Patrick Mwangi’s office, it’s operational.”