Fully-Built Othaya School Shut for Lack of Students

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Wambugu Kanyi

25 June 2011

A full-fledged secondary school in President Kibaki’s home area in Othaya closed down four years ago and since then the local population has never been able to raise enough students for the school to reopen. The school has complete infrastructure with permanent buildings, all of which are lying idle.

Kebebero Secondary School cost thousands of shillings to build, initially as a project for home science for the neighbouring Ihuririo Primary School. But as soon as the buildings for the home science project were completed, the parents decided to convert them to a secondary school.

That was in the year 2006. The school ran for only a few months then closed down. When it opened its doors for a secondary, only 10 students were enrolled. Today, only cows are seen grazing in the compound. Facilities such as desks and lockers for the students are damaged. The few teachers who were hired by the board of governors left to seek employment elsewhere.

Paul Nyogote whose daughter Mary Wangechi was the first to be admitted in the school says he was forced to transfer her when other parents started withdrawing their children.

Area resident Francis Mwangi says that those who conceived the idea of starting the school had not conducted proper feasibility study to establish whether the population of the area can produce enough students to fill the school. “We think the school lacked students because there are three other neighbouring secondary schools. “It’s a shame that a whole school can be closed because of lack of children,” said Ihuririo Primary School headmaster Kamotho Gachuhi.

Gachuhi says it will take years to get enough students to fill the school. His school has less than 40 pupils a class. Some parents, however, felt that politics might have played a role. The neigbouring Ihuririo Youth Polytechnic also closed down two years ago because of lack of students.

Despite funding from LATF, CDF and even well wishers, the polytechnic still folded up. It is now used as a police post. Area DC who is also the chairman of District Education Board David Koskei says that it is only when they will get enough students that the polytechnic will be restarted. “We have no alternative since there are no students. Othaya has 33 public secondary schools and 76 public and private public primary schools.

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