The Ministry of Education has closed four secondary schools in Gatundu North, Kiambu County, due to shortage of students.
Kamwangi, Kaibere, Miteero and Mbichi secondary schools were shut down after students’ population dwindled drastically. The remaining students in the respective schools were transferred to nearby schools.
Gatundu North MP Elijah Njoroge Kururia revealed that more schools in the constituency are facing closure due to low numbers of students, which has magnified the cost of running the institutions.
The lawmaker spoke while disbursing bursary cheques worth sh 29.6 million to over 4000 learners in 25 day schools in the constituency on Friday. Each student received sh 7,000.
He noted that the cost of running the institutions had become unbearable to parents and the government, noting that teachers in some schools have been teaching all subjects, less than 10 students in the schools.
“You find that a school has about 20 learners meaning that each class has about two students who have to be taught all subjects by all teachers. This is too costly and unsustainable, that’s why learners in such schools have been taken to other nearby schools where they are continuing with their learning,” Kururia said.
The MP reiterated that the remaining learners have been transferred to nearby schools where they’ve continued with their studies uninterrupted.
He however expressed concerns over the dwindling students’ population blaming it on laxity of parents in producing more children. He pointed out that young couples in the region are settling on a single kid while those with kids have absorbed their parental duties.
Kururia at the same time called for interdepartmental intervention to address the matter. He rallied all schools’ boards to go back to the drawing board and establish the root cause of the problem and provide solutions to the biting setback.
“All stakeholders must come together and address the root cause of this problem. We have more schools with less than 100 learners and this means that in the near future, they will be closed down too,” the MP said.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker called on parents to ensure that their kids attend classes noting that the area NGCDF has established an elaborate plan to ensure that no learner is left behind. He quipped that all day secondary school students will be paying sh 1500 per term, a move that has relieved most parents of a huge fees burden.
“Our intention is to eventually make learning in Gatundu North free so that all students can access it. As long as I am the area MP, the burden on facilitating education for our children will be shouldered by NGCDF,” the lawmaker noted.
Parents echoed the MP’s sentiments noting that young parents are shying off giving birth to many children like in the yesteryears. They called for proper parenting and advocacy of basic education to the young generation so as to save more schools from imminent closure.
“Young couples are nowadays bearing just one kid while the majority of youths have declined marrying or getting married. the population of children is drastically declining and this means that at some point in time, many schools will be closed,” said Joseph Kimani, a parent.
They at the same time hailed the Gatundu North NGCDF led by the area MP for the prompt intervention in settling school fees, noting that most of them have been unable to facilitate their children’s education due to the current high cost of living in the country.
“The cost of living is very high and many families are even struggling to put food on the table, leave alone paying school fees. We are glad for the support we are receiving,” said Nancy Njambi, a parent.
