By Denis Lumiti
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has urged the national government to invest in infrastructure development of secondary schools to be able to achieve the 100 per cent transition to secondary schools.
Oparanya said the ambitious transition programme would not be achieved if money is not allocated for building more classrooms, dormitories and other facilities in both boarding and day schools.
“The 100 per cent students’ transition programme is a good idea but achieving the goal is a toll order because most schools, if not all, are not in a position to accommodate the large number of students joining the institutions because of lack of adequate facilities,” said the governor.
“Take Kakamega School, for instance. The institution has enrolled more than 700 form one students this year one yet the number of classrooms and other facilities remain the same. This is a big problem to the school,” he said.
He challenged the Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha to use the same spirited efforts he has put in ensuring that students enroll in secondary schools to achieve 100 percent transition to also develop infrastructure.
“Schools do not have money for infrastructural upgrade. The government needs to move with speed to equip the schools to be able to comfortably accommodate the learners,” he added.
Oparanya was speaking in Butere while inspecting development projects in the constituency.
He said other schools have converted dining halls and other structures like stores into dormitories and classrooms which he said would compromise education standards.
He pointed out that students in some schools were forced to learn under trees due to lack of classrooms.
“I visited Mabole Secondary School where I am the Board of Management Chairman and realized that the facilities are overstretched due to very high enrolment,” he added.
The governor said the national government needed to plan well in advance before rolling out the programme to be able to make it successful.
He added that students had been subjected to suffering because of congestion in schools due to the high enrolment.
Oparanya said the county has been supporting secondary schools by setting up classrooms, dormitories and administration blocks.
He said two schools in each of the twelve sub-counties had benefitted from the programme.
“Under this programme, the identified schools presented their priority projects to the county government for consideration before initiating them,” he added.
The governor said his administration had invested a lot in upgrading county polytechnics to be able to provide adequate technical training to students.
He however expressed concern that despite the county equipping the polytechnics and paying fees for students joining the institutions, enrolment was still low.
Oparanya appealed to parents to support the county government in ensuring that their children join the polytechnics to acquire technical skills.
