St Francis Suwerwa Boys: Where cashless policy is working for drop-outs

Julius Kiplimo is the team leader of masons currently undertaking the Ksh 18 million dormitory project at St. Francis Suwerwa High School, Trans Nzoia County, in a newly established policy to shield against drop-outs.

Kiplimo is among the 700 peasant parents of the school who has decided to offer labour in exchange of school fees to secure his child from dropping out of school for non-payment of the fees in this County-Level institution.

While Kiplimo can offer skilled manpower, other parents and guardians were paying the school fees through the supply of goods such as maize, beans, timber, firewood and milk in a move to make the students stay in school and enable them to clear the secondary school education as they prepare for the competitive labour market.

Dubbed ” Kind policy” in an institution situated in the terrains of the Cherangany hills with challenging road network and the high-altitude humid weather, the principal of the school Thomas Kibiwott attribute the policy initiated recently to the minimal and stable the rate of drop-outs of the school.

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From the Kind policy, the school is also engaging in a dairy project, the growing of tea on a 2-acre of land and an agro-forestry demonstration plots, either as part of the CBE of promoting the Agriculture subject as well as earning extra resources to cover for fees for students with humble backgrounds and paying salary to non-teaching staff.

The school stands as the only school in region that has diversified in the production of tea which is consumed by the student, the local community and the surplus sold to Kapsara Tea Factory. The school has been staging tea shows for the fellow visiting students from West Pokot, Elgeiyo Marakwet and Uasin Gishu counties.

“Our work is like table-banking where the proceeds from tea are channeled back to purchase dairy feeds for our heifers that produce the milk which is consumed by students. This helps them to prepare for the studies with effectively. From the cattle sheds, we collect the droppings and dung which is finally consummated into natural manure to be deposited within the vegetable gardens whose harvests are either to boost the kitchen demands.

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To show the school’s humility and eagerness of maintaining poor students in school, a Form IV student Francis Kitung’at, a total orphan, who had school fees balance of Ksh 144,000 has remained in school even after clearing Ksh 40,000 from well-wishers and capitation from the Ministry of Education.

Kitung’at is among a batch of needy students in the school who have craving for bursary from the Cherangany NG-CDF since admission to the school four years ago without success. He prays that the school’s management will be able to tolerate him until he sits for the KCSE at the end of the year

BY ABISAI AMUGUNE