The Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed has decried child labour and drug abuse in Kiambu County, saying they were an impediment to the progress of the education sector.
CS Amina Mohammed regretted that scores of children worked in farms instead of attending school.
Launching Dialogue on Quality of Education in the county at Kiambu High School, CS Amina Mohammed noted that hiring of children in farms in the county was rampant.
CS Mohammed called on leaders to moot ways of combating drug abuse, especially local brews and teenage pregnancies.
She noted that the vices were responsible for the high school drop-out rates in the county and implored local leaders to ensure that all children went to school, as education was free and compulsory.
The CS pointed out that besides free primary education, the government had introduced free day secondary school education, “and the issue of lack of school fees will no longer be a block to anyone who wants to join the secondary school.
”CS Amina stressed that the government had played its role by introducing free education in the country and called on parents to buy uniform for the children and ensure they are in school.