As schools struggle with funding against the backdrop of higher enrollment due to the 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary, which has caused congestion in classrooms and dormitories, school alumni associations are becoming key to financing development of infrastructure and paying school fees for needy learners.
These challenges continue to attract the attention of alumni, who are increasingly stepping in to build and spruce up their former schools through their associations, especially in older national schools such as Mang’u High, Alliance Girls, Alliance Boys, Lenana School, Starehe Boys and Kenya High.
These alumni associations have for years worked with school boards and management to sponsor projects and mentor students.
They have allowed former students to retain links and identity with the schools — ties that extend to the job market where they discuss opportunities and share experiences.
However, as this goes on, there is a lot that current alumni associations need to learn especially from the ‘colonial time’ alumni associations such as one of the oldest school alumni association, the Government African School, now Kapsabet Boys High School Old Boys Association.
Kapsabet Boys High School is located in Emgwen constituency, Kapsabet and was founded in the year 1925 as Government African School (GAS) and has stood the test of time since then until now.
Its alumni association was known as GAS Old Boys Association which was formed on Saturday December 9, 1944 according to a notice seen by Education News dated December 20, 1944 which was addressed to the then District Commissioner in Nandi notifying the office of its formation.
“A meeting at G.A.S. on Saturday December 9, an old boys association was formed,” reads the notice to the then Nandi D.C. which was signed by the Association’s first Secretary William A. Kamuny, with Hanson Elijah as its first president.
During the colonial time, before an alumni association was granted permission to operate, it had to clearly state its rules and regulations to the then colonial government.
For instance, for one to be a member of the G.A.S. Old Boys Association he or she was required to mandatory pay an entrance fee of Ksh1 and an annual subscription fee of 50 cents.
Upon admission, a member was required to mandatory undertake to observe and carry out 10 points which can be seen in the present day as rules and regulations.
G.A.S. Old Boys Association members were required to support the school and primary, send children to school including girls; fight malaria and all kinds of preventable illness (diseases); build good houses; cultivate land in a way that does not degrade the soil.
To respect women and try to avoid giving them hard labour, to mandatory teach five people a year to read, to pay taxes quickly and respect the authority, to have a savings bank book to save money for old age, to be tolerant of people of other religions, and to try to drive out drunkenness by encouraging games and healthy sports in the village.
By Education News reporter
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