Bungoma County’s education sector is staring at a major crisis due to a glaring mismatch between the number of primary and secondary schools.
Speaking during a live interview on a vernacular radio station, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Second Vice Chairperson Aggrey Namisi, decried the lack of adequate secondary schools to accommodate students transitioning from primary level.
According to Namisi,the county currently has 1,116 primary schools with only 375 secondary schools, a situation he described as untenable.
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“How do you expect 1,116 students in Grade 9 to transition to only 375 secondary schools? There is a problem. Our politicians are avoiding education issues. I appeal to the governor to put things right. We need to brainstorm this issue,” he stated.
Namisi called on Bungoma leaders to convene urgent discussions to address the crisis, noting that some constituencies, such as Webuye West under MP Dan Wanyama, had made efforts to balance the ratio, but more needed to be done countywide.
He also took issue with the failure of elected leaders to attend crucial education forums, warning that the growing school infrastructure gap would eventually become their responsibility.
“If members of parliament don’t attend these meetings, how will we solve these problems? This crisis of too few schools and too many students must be resolved by leaders, whether we like it or not,” he said.
Beyond infrastructure concerns, Namisi also raised alarm over teacher employment disparities, revealing that Bungoma still has 2,009 unemployed teachers from as far back as 2009, while other regions, such as Central Kenya, have had teachers hired as recently as 2019.
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He criticized local leaders for failing to present these pressing issues to President William Ruto during his visits, accusing them of shielding the government from the harsh realities of Bungoma’s education system.
With student numbers growing and school capacity lagging, education stakeholders are now calling on Governor Kenneth Lusaka and Members of Parliament to urgently address the crisis before it worsens.
By Godfrey Wamalwa
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