By Boniface Ongeri
Even though the Government has received accolades for free primary education, there is a danger the initiative may fail if the Government does not consider infrastructure.
Some schools do not fit definition as centres of learning. One such institution is Jogbaru Primary School in North Eastern Province. The situation at Jogbaru in Bulla Jogoo, Wajir County, can best be described as appalling.
The rundown institution stands on the western end of Wajir town, on the border between Wajir East and Wajir West constituencies.
Locals refer to the school that opened its doors to children in 1974 as "the ruins", and it is not difficult to see why.
At the not so clearly defined entrance, one is greeted with a board that has seen better times.
The school motto ("Acquisition of skills, knowledge and attitude for a better future.") is engraved on it. Below the motto is the school mission, which reads: "Acquire a suitable foundation of skills and knowledge and develop a positive attitude for excellence".
Akin to war zone
Visitors to the institution would be forgiven for thinking they have landed in a war zone. The classrooms have cracked walls as they have endured heavy shelling.
The holes and crevices host monitor lizards and other reptiles. The windows are gone and the roof has been blown off.
The compound is overgrown with thicket, that has crept into the classrooms. The privies are in ruins and there is no single latrine for the 172 girls in the school.A hacking cough from one of the classes stirs life. It is Ahmed Bulle, the school’s security officer.
So, what is there to watch over?
"Nothing really," he says his troubled eyes sweeping the crumbling buildings. "I just report for formality". Pupils here have been learning in awful conditions.
The school head teacher, Ibrahim Ali Mohammed, is a worried man. "If the situation does not change before January then I am afraid we will just have to keep the learners away," he says.
Many parents have already pulled their children out of the school. One of the parents, Musa Abdi said he asked his Class Three child to stay at home after the wall of their class collapsed while learning was in progress. "My son escaped with injuries and for me his safety is more important than learning. I decided he would stay at home until safety measures are improved. Until then, he will look after my goats," he says.
The child, Abdirahaman Musa, is among more than 100 children who have already dropped out of the school because of its pathetic situation.
"We were learning Kiswahili when the walls caved in, trapping us for some hours. My leg was stuck in the debris, luckily the teachers rescued me," he said.
The fence that kept villagers and animals from wandering into the school compound is no more and truancy was a common feature, according to the head teacher. A huge part of the compound has also been encroached on by villagers.
Most schools in Wajir are also in bad shape but Jogbaru’s case is the worst.
The school’s dismal performance in national examination is a refletion of the learning environment.
The school’s chairman Mohammed Issack says it is unfair to expect good performance with bad infrastructure.
"When the situation is as bad as this, performance goes down the list of priorities. We cannot blame the teachers," he said.
In May, the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation gave the school administration two weeks to close down the institution if no remedial measures were put in place by the lapse of the notice.
The inspection report stated the school was not fit for learning.
But an understanding was reached to allow learning to go on. However, health officials are back on the case and they have vowed to ensure it does not open next year.
Notice to close school
Jeremiah Mutua, the Wajir East Public Health Officer, said they would not allow the school to operate under such conditions. "We have given notice to the Ministry of Education through the District Education Officer to close the school," he said.
"Most parts of the school compound is bushy and littered with faeces because it has no proper waste disposal and this is a health hazard for the occupants," he said in the report. The school head said they would respect the directive describing the situation as sorry.
"The unfortunate and sorry state of the school has seriously undermined learning," he said. "It has affected pupils physically and psychologically."
Several attempts to draw the attention of well wishers and the local Constituency Development Fund have yielded no fruits," he said.
He said the school needs close to Sh2 million for reconstruction.
And it is this sad state of affairs that has made a group of old boys led by Mohammed Abdinoor to organise a funds drive tomorrow to help aid their alma mater and its current 530 pupils.
Abdinoor says the entire school needs to be rebuilt as the 1974 structures are falling apart.
Abdinoor said it was painful to watch his former school go to rack and ruin.
"We appeal to the Wajir East MP Mohamed Elmi whose constituency the school is located, the Ministry of Education and other well wishers and friends to assist the school," he says.
