State to expand schools' infrastructure to match high students’ numbers, says Uhuru

President Uhuru Kenyatta has a word with School Captain Kitagwa Powell speech during the Prize Giving and Thanksgiving Day at Mang'u High, Kiambu County. [Photo:PSCU]

President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday said the government will put up infrastructure in secondary schools to match the 100 per cent transition from primary.

President Kenyatta said the government was currently taking stock of infrastructure deficit in secondary schools in order to know the amount of money needed.

“We have to deal with infrastructure development in our schools to match the increasing numbers of students,” he said.

Many public schools in the country are currently witnessing acute classroom shortage, following the 100 per cent transition programme initiated by the government last year. He said the government will continue paying exam fees for candidates in the Kenya Certificate of Primary School Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

Sterling perfomance

He said through national education polices, the government has continued to improve infrastructure in schools, provided National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover for all secondary school students and increased pupils and student’s capitation.

The President made the remarks at Mang’u High School in Juja, Kiambu County, during the school’s prize-giving ceremony following its good performance in the 2018 KCSE exam.

He commended Mang’u management, teachers, parents and students for their continued sterling performance in national examinations.

The school, which was founded in 1925 by Holy Ghost fathers, has produced some of the the country’s great leaders, including retired President Mwai Kibaki, former Vice-President Moody Awori and former Catholic Church head, the late Maurice Cardinal Otunga.

President Kenyatta said the government will give the school Sh140 million in the next two financial years to construct a perimeter wall, two science laboratories, an 800-capacity dormitory block, a computer laboratory and four ablution blocks.

He said the new facilities will help to alleviate congestion in the school, which currently has a student capacity of 1,700. The President also promised to buy the school a 72-seater bus.

Education Principal Sectary Belio Kipsang said the national primary school to secondary school transition rate currently stands at 94 per cent.

Dr Kipsang said the country is currently spending 27 per cent of her budget to fund education. He said the ministry has managed to deal with book shortage in schools, with student-book ratio currently standing at one to one.

The PS said the ministry will involve all the necessary stakeholders to ensure the new competence based curriculum becomes a success. “We have already distributed 12.5 million competence based curriculum books for Grade 1-3 and will be distributing an additional 14.5 million by next week,” he said.

The President steered clear of politics in his speech.