- Residents say some schools in Mariashoni have only one TSC-employed teacher despite serving many learners.
- At Block Ten ECD School, more than 200 learners are reportedly sharing just two teachers.
- Parents want national and county governments to urgently address staffing, infrastructure and access challenges affecting education in the area.
Residents of Mariashoni in Molo, Nakuru County, have raised concern over severe understaffing in schools in the area.
The residents observed that the shortage of teachers is hampering learning and undermining the academic prospects of their children.
Led by Mary Kirui and Florence Maina, they said some schools in the area have only one teacher employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), leaving learners without adequate teaching support.
Speaking during a meeting in the area, the residents lamented that their repeated appeals for more teachers had not yielded any action.
“We have raised this matter several times, but nothing has been done. Some of our schools have only one TSC teacher, and this is a very worrying situation,” Kirui said.
She said the shortage had adversely affected the quality of education in the area, with learners struggling to receive adequate attention from the few available teachers.
Maina said understaffing was also contributing to poor academic performance in Mariashoni, leaving the area trailing behind other parts of the country.
“The shortage of teachers is directly affecting our children’s performance. How do we expect them to compete academically with children from areas where there are enough teachers?” she posed.
The residents said it was ironic that some areas had more teachers than required while schools in Mariashoni, despite being fully registered, continued to experience a serious shortage.
“It is painful to see some areas having excess teachers while our registered schools have a huge shortage. Our children deserve the same opportunities as those in other parts of the country,” Maina said.
They further claimed that some schools in the area had resorted to engaging Form Four leavers to teach learners because of the shortage of qualified teachers.
Kirui said the practice was denying children their right to quality education and called for urgent action to address the staffing crisis.
“We are forced to rely on Form Four leavers to teach our children because there are not enough teachers. This is denying our children their right to quality education,” she said.
The residents urged the Teachers Service Commission and the Ministry of Education to urgently deploy more teachers to the affected schools, saying the education of children in Mariashoni should be treated as a priority.
“We want the TSC and the Ministry of Education to intervene urgently. Our children cannot continue suffering because of a shortage of teachers,” Maina said.
They warned that unless the staffing shortage was addressed, the academic performance of learners in the area would continue to suffer, further widening the education gap between Mariashoni and better-staffed areas.
Over 200 learners share two teachers
This comes as it emerges that over 200 learners at Block Ten ECD School in the area are sharing just two teachers, a situation parents say is compromising their children’s education.
One of the teachers is employed by the Nakuru County Government, while the second is paid by parents through the school’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).
Parents led by their representative Charles Londiani said they had been forced to shoulder part of the responsibility of providing teachers because of inadequate government staffing.
“We are doing what we can as parents, but paying a teacher is not a sustainable solution. The government needs to take responsibility and provide enough teachers for our children,” Londiani said.
PTA teacher Hillary Arap Chirchir said the shortage was making it difficult to provide learners with the attention they need.
“The situation here is worrying, and it seems no leader is addressing the issue,” said Chirchir.
The parents fear the situation could become worse during the expected El Niño rains, with flooding of small rivers and poor roads likely to disrupt access to the school.
They said teachers and learners could be forced to stay away from school whenever roads become impassable or rivers overflow.
“When the rains come, accessing this school becomes a major challenge. We are worried about what will happen to our children if the rivers flood and the roads become impassable,” Londiani said.
Six-kilometre journey after Grade Three
For families whose children complete Grade Three, another challenge awaits.
Block Ten ECD School does not offer education beyond Grade Three, meaning pupils must walk more than six kilometres to schools in Vikingi and Kapsinendet.
The parents said the long journey had made some children abandon school altogether, while others were forced to repeat Grade Three.
“A child finishes Grade Three and then has to walk more than six kilometres to continue learning. Some parents cannot manage the daily journey, and this is why we are seeing children drop out or repeat the grade,” said Londiani.
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Chirchir said the situation required urgent intervention, warning that children from the area risked being left behind academically if the challenges were not addressed.
The parents want both levels of government to provide more teachers, improve roads and expand the school so that learners can continue with their education closer to home.
“Our children deserve a better learning environment. We are asking the government to come to our aid before the situation gets worse,” said Chirchir.
By Kimutai Langat
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