School administrators inquire about funding for tree seedlings from the state.
Head teachers have objected to the plan to plant 15 billion trees in the next ten years, citing a shortage of funding.
Western head teachers are claiming that the state is not providing enough tree saplings.
One of the head instructors remarked, “We do not have a budget, but we are supposed to meet for the exercise.”
For fear of retaliation from his superiors, the head of the school asked to remain anonymous.
Western school leaders were required to participate in an online conference yesterday in order to plant trees.
By Friday, every student is expected to plant three trees as part of the initiative.
School heads must use their school Nemis login and password to access the Elimu Tree Planting platform on the National Education Management Information System.
After that, they must upload the information about how many trees their schools have planted.
According to directives from the ministry of education, complete participation is expected from all heads of elementary and secondary schools, both public and private.
However, the majority of school heads still find it difficult to source seedlings.
Education officials gave schools instructions to purchase tree seedlings by Friday.
Head teachers were advised to seek sponsors, well-wishers, and community-based organizations in order to obtain seedlings.
“The community should participate in the tree-planting event in addition to the school. A portion of the directive obtained by the Star reads, “Kindly purpose to 100% attend the online meeting and take note that tree planting exercise is a presidential directive.”
In order to improve the documentation and reporting of tree-growing activities by educational institutions, the Environment and Education ministries will collaborate to integrate the Jaza Miti and Elimu apps during the meeting.
George Tarus, the acting secretary for conservation, asked school administrators to collaborate closely with their respective ministries on Tuesday.
He stated, “They ought to collaborate with the Principal Secretaries and Cabinet Secretaries of the relevant ministries.”
An interministerial meeting on how to work together to plant 15 billion trees was co-chaired by CSs Soipan Tuya for the environment and Ezekiel Machogu for education on April 2.
One of the main forces behind the initiatives to plant 15 billion trees is the Ministry of Education.
This comes after its 600,000 teachers and 17 million students.
According to Belio Kipsang, principal secretary for basic education, the Environment Ministry would make sure that 15,000 kg of tree seedlings are sent on time each year.
The Education Ministry will be able to produce 300 million seedlings annually thanks to this.
The Education Ministry will get technical assistance on seedling production and tree growing, including site-species matching, from the Environment Ministry through the Kenya Forest Service and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute.
After that, the two ministries will work together to develop a framework for collaboration at the county and subcounty levels.
Additionally, they decided to work together to create an awards program that would recognize the top-performing educational establishments.
The 10-year National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy serves as the foundation for the government’s 15 billion tree planting campaign, which is an effort to combat climate change.
By 2032, the program aims to increase Kenya’s tree cover by thirty percent.
Across 11 intervention regions, the government aims to repair 10.6 million hectares of deteriorated ecosystems and landscapes.
Kipsang stated that since the program’s introduction a little over a year ago, it has advanced remarkably.
Developing the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy 2023–32, building 11 new seed centers to expand access to premium tree seeds, and distributing 100 tonnes of seeds are only a few of the advancements, he said.
Additional achievements include the creation of the Forest Adoption and Tree Growing Incentive Frameworks, the supervision of the growth of 300 million seedlings as documented on Jaza Miti applications, and the launch of the 15 billion tree planting campaign and restoration secretariat, which is based at the State Department of Forestry.
Additionally, the two ministries will collaborate to create initiatives for awareness-raising and communication.
Kipsang stated that the National Tree Growing Day, Kenya’s inaugural green holiday, which fell on November 13 of last year, served as the program’s high point.
A record 150 million trees were planted in a single day on this particular day.
According to Tuya, the ministry has established goals for each department, agency, and ministry on their respective contributions. The Education Ministry, according to her, has networks and phone numbers all around the nation.
“The work that my ministry has been doing is laying the groundwork for each MDA (ministries, departments, and agencies) to connect into and pursue their objectives.”
Machogu pledged at the event to assist in mobilizing funds for projects aimed at encouraging the growth of trees.
School administrators inquire about funding for tree seedlings from the state.
More Teachers Updates
Follow Us on Telegram.