By Norah Musega
Students of Angugo Secondary School in Nyatike -Migori county failed to reopen school following heavy floods that left the school submerged in water.
Speaking to Education News yesterday in Angugo area, the Principal, Mr Joseph Serena said his administration has instructed the learners to stay home until a solution is found through the assistance of the Ministry of Education.
“Accessing the facility is not easy. On Monday I had to access my office to give a report to my bosses on the situation at the school and even gumboots have become useless since the water is at waistline level,” narrated Sereka.
With heavy floods affecting the operations of the learning facility, the administration has also expressed fears of how locals will register their children in form one come July.
The area MP, Hon. Tom Odege noted that the water affecting the area is from Lambwe Valley in Homabay County and there was dire need for construction of dykes and two dams; one in the side of Homabay and another in Migori county to help collect water for irrigation by the locals during long droughts.
Odege promised to hold talks with the County Government of Migori through its Development Committee and follow through to the National Treasury to help find a lasting solution. He added that the national government had recently established a dyke at River Kuja and this hadn’t helped much since it has left those on the other side without a dyke more prone to floods.
“The dykes and dams ought to have been constructed by the National Irrigation Authority but this has not been possible due to limited funding for development to the institution. I will seek the assistance of the County Development Committee to help construct a dam that will help retain the flooded water for irrigation purposes I had initiated in the area,” said Odege.
Locals in the area, led by Joseph Ochieng called on the County Government to come to their rescue and help find a solution to the problem that might result to their children being left behind in syllabus coverage.
“Our sons and daughters have stayed at home for too long due to the Covid-19 pandemic and there is need to utilize the little available time as scheduled by the Ministry of Education for syllabus coverage, especially for the current form three students,” said Ochieng.
According to statistics given by the area DCC, Madam Florence Alati, seven schools, among them five primary schools and around 837 households have been affected by the floods.
