New Schools Construction to Save Children from Dangerous Tana River and Wild Animals

Learners from the two villages that are 12 kilometres apart were previously walking for long distances to the nearby schools at Kipao and Handaraku villages. It has been a dire situation for the learners having to risk their lives walking through forests and crossing the massive River Tana to school.

“Our children used to go through a lot of suffering especially when the river is flooded and wild animals are roaming around. We thank the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF) through our MP Ali Wario for constructing the school. Jare Boneya, resident,  Lailoni village.

The two schools were handed registration certificates by MP  Wario hence opening them up officially. The Deputy Head Teacher of Handaraku primary school Isaac Gichuki said that the new schools will lower the burden on learners and minimize risks from wild animals on their way to school.

“The new school will absorb at least 30 per cent of learners who had to cross the river to my school and we will only remain with learners from the Handaraku side of the river,” he said.

His sentiments were echoed by Mr Salim Jarso from Handaraku village who said that a number of children have been attacked by crocodiles while crossing the river. 

“We have more than 200 learners who cross to Handaraku to attend school and one old man is the one that constructed this makeshift bridge to help us cross to the other villages,” he said.


 Waithera Abajilo a resident in the area urged the government to equip the schools adequately so that they can cope with the huge number of pupils.

She added that Handaraku primary school has a population of 780 pupils but there were only seven classrooms and one has been converted into a staffroom for teachers.
 

Garsen MP Ali Wario also appealed to the government to employ more teachers in schools within his constituency saying that the scarcity of teachers played a huge part in the poor performance in national examinations.

“We want the government to employ more teachers in our schools since we have a huge shortage and teachers who are posted in our schools seek relocation months after being posted since they don’t come from among us,” said MP Wario.

He further urged residents to enrol their children who complete form four in teacher training colleges to increase the number of teachers from the local community.


He now rally's the government to lower admission grades for teacher training colleges saying that the move will help residents from marginalized areas admit more pupils to their institutions.