By Obegi Malack
Kajiado County Governor Joseph Ole Lenku has protested the plan by the Ministry of Education to abolish boarding primary schools for Grades One to Nine.
The Governor, who was speaking during Jamhuri Day celebrations in Kajiado on December 12, said the move will disadvantage learners in pastoralist communities.
He added that boarding schools secure learners from retrogressive cultures such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early marriages and pregnancies that affect their education.
The county boss said that some learners trek for long distances to access education and this exposes them to sex predators.
Basic Education Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Belio Kipsang earlier said that the actual reason the government wants to do away with boarding schools is to make education affordable.
“We are not abolishing anything since 96% of our primary schools which will host JSS are already day schools,” the PS said during the opening ceremony of the 18th Kenya Primary School Heads Association (KEPSHA).
The Kenya Private Schools Association chairman (KPSA) Chairperson Charles Ochome said that the PS was misquoted and the government will only abolish the boarding schools after public participation.
Kajiado County KPSA representative Peter Waweru rejected the move saying the distance between schools and homes in the area is a lot and learners will not have enough time to study.
He said the government should advice the boarding schools on how to solve challenges rather than abolishing them.
