By Erick Nyayiera
When he was posted as the new Principal of Riambase DEB Secondary School in Nyamache Sub County, Obenge Philemon Ogolla didn’t know what was awaiting him.
Having served as a formal Deputy Principal of Mariwa Secondary School for 6 years, a school that has had cemented itself in top academic position over the years, Ogolla had to contend with the glaring challenges in the new station.
“When I reported to Riambase DEB Secondary School, I found a shell of a school; there were only four classrooms with no windows and doors. It was a school situated in a swampy place in the middle of a river only cordoned with blue gum trees,” revealed Ogolla.
He stated that he had to recede for three weeks after reporting to ponder on the next move but when he finally settled, he began rehabilitating the school from scratch to what is today a model school that attracts students.
“I realised there was no way out, sourcing for infrastructure money from the government was a tall order and to make matters worse I was the first TSC teacher posted to the school with virtually nothing to begin from”, stated Ogolla.
To salvage the situation, he decided to take a loan from his salary to manage the school and put things in order, a move that saw him engage a couple of teachers and fix the doors and windows.
“I took out a loan from my own salary to run the school because I believe in doing the right thing even if it means sacrificing, I like to work and fear failure and always motivated by hard work,” he said.
When he took over in 2007 the mixed secondary school student population was 84 and with his interventions and administration the population has since grown to 1,073 in 2018 with full boarding facilities.
The mean for the last four years has been steady; in 2014 the school had a mean of 8.0, in 2015 the mean was 8.2, in the year 2016 they recorded a mean of 6.9 (there was a general decline nationwide) and finally the year 2017 they recorded a mean of 7.14.
“Out of 149 students who sat the 2017 KCSE exams, 108 got direct entry to public universities and the last seven students got C- and it’s because of the hard work of the teachers and the disciplined students,” he noted.
