By John Oroni
The management of St Brigid’s Girls National School in Trans-Nzoia County is on the spot for expelling a form one student who had been admitted in a hospital for over a week because of malaria related complications.
The form one student became ill four days after reporting to the school. She was later admitted for specialized care at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).
Upon return to school, the institution’s management claimed that she had mental challenges and could not be allowed back to the school, a decision that sparked uproar from leaders from Turkana County led by Governor Josphat Nanok and human rights activist Kefa Were.
“This letter is to confirm that student June Lokuruka Enkanyim was admitted and treated at the facility. She is currently stable and able to continue with her studies normally. Please accord her the necessary support” reads in part, a medical report signed by a consultant psychiatrist Dr. Felicita Mwangi.
The management of the Catholic led institution declined to accept the letter and instead branded the girl an arsonist. A section of the school’s two storey dormitory was razed down a month ago by unknown people while the newly admitted student was in hospital.
The school’s principal Violeta Lukorito said the decision to expel the student was reached by the school’s board of management and that she had no powers to overturn the decision.
She added that the student would have suffered stigma and segregation by other students if she was allowed back to school.
The student’s fee at St Brigid’s Girls is paid by an American philanthropist, who expressed his shock at being informed that the student had medical issues yet doctors at the facility she was admitted said she had malaria.
The philanthropist had read about the girl’s plight and offered to sponsor her high school education. The girl had resorted to herding goats in Turkana since her parents were unable to raise her school fees.
“Together with the parents, we sought further explanation from the Trans Nzoia County director of education Dr Salome Maina on the decision to turn away a child who had been released by the school to seek medical attention. The education director promised to help the child secure a place in a school in Nandi, a suggestion that the parent did not agree,” the well-wisher said.
The parents who looked distressed by the open discrimination accused the school of bias.
“We come from Turkana, which is hundreds of kilometers away. We have been living on the streets of Kitale for too long and the school has been turning us away. Is my daughter being punished for falling sick?” asked the father, Patrick Lokuruka.
Dr Maina said she had no capacity to help and urged the parents to seek help from the Cabinet Secretary of Education Dr George Magoa or the Catholic Bishop Maurice Crawley.
The Bishop was not reached for comment by the time of going to press. However leaders and human rights activists have since called for the removal of the principal for discrimination.
