Only three out of 40 public secondary schools in Ruiru constituency, Kiambu County have title deeds for their land parcels, many of which have been targeted by land grabbers.
Area MP Simon King’ara disclosed that Ruiru Boys’ School was one of the learning institutions which whose land was under the threat of being hived off by cartels as it doesn’t have a title deed for its land.
Concerned by the predicament, the MP has initiated steps to ensure all the schools get valid ownership documents and are fenced off to ward off encroachers.
“I have tabled a motion which is in its second reading in the National Assembly in a bid to make it a law that all public institutions get land titles,” said King’ara.
He was speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of dormitories at Ruiru Boys secondary school which the government plans to convert into a boarding facility to counter the threat of drugs and improve its academic performance.
The MP said besides combating the threat of drugs, the boarding facilities will provide a conducive learning environment for the students and help improve their performance.
Located in the center of Ruiru town, the school has had cases of drugs being sneaked in by dealers through some of the students as they commute from home, according to the administration.
Consequently, the government has set aside Sh. 12 million to construct two boarding blocks in the first phase of the project which is expected to be ready in January next year and will initially accommodate 150 students, out of the current population of 650.
King’ara said so far only Ruiru Girls Secondary has boarding facilities in the entire constituency.
“Because of its location right in the center of the town and being a day school, the school management has been facing challenges of warding off drug traffickers out to achieve their goals using the boys,” said King’ara.
His sentiments were backed by the school Principal James Kibe who said there were some cases of drugs and theft that were reported to the police.
Kibe said that the construction of a fence will protect the school land from unscrupulous grabbers and aid in preventing theft of school facilities as well as the sneaking of drugs and narcotics into the school.
“Thieves have been breaking into the school and stealing desks to sell as scrap metals.
We have incurred huge losses because of these criminal acts.
We are pleading to the Government to consider installing a wall to boost security and improve learning conditions for our students,” Kibe said.
By Kamau Njoroge
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