Fredrick Odiero
When he was moved from a school with over two thousand students to one with less than one hundred, many people condemned him to oblivion; sure that he was going to resign from the teaching profession.
But that was never to be for Joseph Manguro who has shown great patience and versatility since he was moved to Awasi Boys Secondary School in 2016 amid controversy.
The gallant school head says he was hounded out of his former school after he gunned for a top position within the teaching ranks against the wishes of some people.
Manguro has remained focused throughout the time he landed at the little known school.
He says the school, which is sponsored by the Pentecostal Assemblies of God, had only 83 students when he went there. It was on the verge of collapse and the community had rejected a number of school heads who had been posted there.
The community initially opposed his posting but eventually accepted him.
He was moved from Kisumu Day High School where he was the deputy principal, yet was unmoved by the hostile conditions at Awasi Secondary School located in Nyando, Kisumu County.
He says the student population had grown to 230 by 2018, as some parents transferred their children from the former school.
‘From a student population of 83 only, we now have over 400,” he says.
He says the two streams school has 12 TSC staff, forcing them to hire 8 more teachers on the BoM payroll.
The principal says the school has only one laboratory and a book store for a library.
Before, there was a major water problem until he engaged the community and a donor who sunk a borehole at a cost of Sh1.3 million.
The soft-spoken Manguro says their 10-acre parcel of land was adequate for future expansion.
Among the structures are three dormitories, though they plan to construct more as plans are underway to put up more.
The county school offers 11 subjects that are expected to do well in the 2021 KCSE examinations, having managed to send three students to public universities in 2020 and two the previous year. The school mean score then was 3.861 and was at position 14 in Nyando Sub-county and 121 in Kisumu County.
He says the current MP Jared Okello, who is an alumni of the institution, has been very supportive especially in terms of bursary allocations, as was his predecessor who is now the Kisumu Senator.
Manguro adds that parents and the Board of Management has also been very supportive to the growing institution, although late payment of fees has compromised vital operations.
