By Hilton Mwabili
Mama Ngina Girls High school in Mombasa will be ready for relocation from its current location in the upmarket Kizingo area in Mombasa Island to its new location in Shanzu within six months.
The school’s Chief Principal Mwanahamisi Omar said the relocation will start after the completion of the second phase of the institution.
‘Construction works for the Sh100 million phase one of the project which began in 2018 is 85 percent complete. Phase one includes a tuition block of 21 classrooms, 30 offices, washrooms and four labs. The second phase of construction will involve construction of a hostel to host 1,000 girls and will cost Kshs 66 million,’ Omar said.
In 2018, the government through the Ministry of Education, then under CS Fred Matiang’i, announced plans to relocate the school from Kizingo to a 10 acre space in Shanzu donated by Shimo la Tewa high school. Shimo la Tewa GK prisons released an additional 10 acres. The Ministry issued a Sh100 million cheque to facilitate the relocation plan.
“Mama Ngina girls is the only girls national boarding school in Mombasa County. I want to take this opportunity to thank the President for thinking of relocating this school,” Omar said adding that the spacious structures will allow the school to accommodate more learners.
The principal expressed hope that the new structure can take up to a maximum of 10 streams which translates to a maximum of 2,000 students.
Nestled in Kizingo, school was established in 1988 as a public double streamed boarding school on less than an acre land. It lacked space for a playground, forcing them to outsource playground facilities for co-curricular activities.
Senior Director at the Presidential Delivery Unit Polycarp Onyango said the project is part of the futuristic agenda of President Uhuru Kenyatta to set the standard for how schools should be.
He added that 100 acres of land has been set aside for national schools in Lamu and Kwale counties with the objective of constructing model national schools.
