SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE INAUGURATION AND HANDING OVER CEREMONY OF THE NEW MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION COMPLEX AT CEMASTEA AT KAREN, NAIROBI, 6 TH FEBRUARY, 2014 Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be with you today, in this historic location. We meet to celebrate the inauguration and handing over of this new complex for Mathematics, Science and echnology !ducation here in "aren. It represents a huge investment in the future of our nation# the government and people of $apan have given us a most valuable gift. %ur first order of business is to repay their gift with our warmest than&s. Ladies and Gentlemen, Some years ago, we set ourselves the goal of becoming a middle'income country within () years. I &now that we cannot reach our vision ()*) without becoming our region+s centre for research and development in new technologies. We also &now that we must prepare our children to compete in a world that is becoming ever more dependent on science and technology. So we will do everything in our power to ma&e education and training of international ,uality available to every "enyan. -!M.S !. is vital for those plans. Ladies and Gentlemen, We have already begun to improve the national pool of s&ills and talents in science education. My Government, following the medium term plan laid out in /ision ()*), is implementing a national Science, echnology, !ngineering and Mathematics 0rogramme. It will improve our students+ innovation and creativity through carefully crafted programmes at every level of our education system. 1ut our students cannot do it alone. If they learn effectively, it will only be because their teachers are proficient and enthusiastic. We do not have to re'invent the wheel. %ver the years, we have wor&ed together with our development partners to establish a sustainable in'service education and training 2I3S! 4 system for our teachers. !xperience has taught that this initiative, simple as it sounds, wor&s. 5ere, let me pause to mention the government of $apan which helped us in the design and launch of the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science !ducation 2SM.S!4 0rogramme. 6evelopment assistance of this &ind 7 programmes fine'tuned to serve the real needs of our people 7 deserve nothing but praise. My Government, through -!M.S !. programmes, now provides continuous professional development to our Mathematics and Science eachers in secondary schools and eacher raining -olleges. Ladies and Gentlemen, I began by saying that -!M.S !. was a great gift. We have not &ept that gift to

ourselves# we have shared it with our region and our continent. With the support of $apan+s International -ooperation .gency 2$I-.4 the good practices which were pioneered here have spread to *8 other countries in .frica. .nd in the last decade, -!M.S !. has trained more than 9,8)) educators from (: countries across .frica. Inspired by our example, similar programmes have been adopted by 98 of these .frican countries. %ur solidarity with our continent and our region is real. %ur neighbours have returned the honour. he .frican ;nion -ommission designated this centre its lead agency for Science, Mathematics and echnology education to support the implementation of its plan for .frica+s ( nd 6ecade of !ducation. .nd, in a sign of the esteem in which we are held, SM.S! 7 the .frican association that brings together science and mathematics educators from *8 countries across .frica 7 has now based its head,uarters and secretariat right here. We are honoured by the trust our development partners and friends have shown us. Ladies and Gentlemen, <ou now see why I am so pleased to =oin you in celebrating this facility. It directly contributes to a pressing national goal, and it is a standing reminder of the achievements available to us when we pool our talents with our neighbours and friends. 1ut even as we celebrate the achievements of this centre and receive this modern facility, we ac&nowledge that it is not enough. hough, as we heard, the centre provides continuing education for science teacher, the need to bring all other sub=ects on board is clear. .ware of the need, 0resident "iba&i+s Government approved the conversion of this -entre into a state corporation to be &nown as the Institute for -apacity 6evelopment of eachers in .frica 2I-.6! .4. %nce established, I-.6! . will provide professional development to teachers in all sub=ect areas# it will also establish satellite centres in every county, bringing home the promise of devolution. My Government will establish I-.6! . with all reasonable speed. Let me close, Ladies and Gentlemen, by than&ing, once again, the government and people of $apan for their generosity. %ver the years, they have invested more than a billion shillings in the programmes we celebrate today. 1ut more than that, the long friendship between our two countries is invaluable. It is an honour for my Government to continue this long association, and we loo& forward to even closer ties. han& you and God bless>