Sh8 billion infrastructure cash and scholarships up for grabs

A class session at Jehova-Jire Primary School in Nairobi’s Kasarani area. [Xinhua]

The scramble for the Sh8.2 billion infrastructure project aimed at improving quality education in public secondary schools has kicked off with some 5,000 institutions being considered.

It also emerged that mapping out of 18,000 needy students to benefit from the Sh5.2 billion scholarships has started with guidelines for selection being fine-tuned.

Candidate’s performance in Standard Eight national exams and family background will rank high among factors to be considered when selection for the scholarships starts.

Be absorbed

Finer details show that 9,000 students will be absorbed under the first phase with successful candidates taken through secondary education from Form One to Four. The details are part of the Sh20 billion mega Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP) programme funded by the World Bank.

The project brief seen by Saturday Standard, shows that up to 1.2 million students are targeted in the scheme that will be implemented to 2023.

Some 600,000 pupils in upper primary (Grade 7 and 8) and a similar number of secondary students (Form One to Four) in the targeted areas will benefit.

Overall, 7,852 public primary schools and 2,147 secondary schools are targeted across 30 counties and 110 sub-counties.

The benefiting schools are being mapped out based on education and economic disadvantage of the regions. Saturday Standard has established that a high-level eight-day meeting that ended last week in Kakamega drew work plans of the project with firm commitment to deadlines.

The meeting brought together senior Ministry of Education officials, Regional Coordinators of Education, County Directors of Education and Teachers Service Commission County directors and consultants.

The project is being rolled out by Project Implementation Team, which comprises of national project coordinator, four deputy coordinators and assistant component leads.

Also in the team are technical working groups from agencies — inter-agency committees, various technical assistants, an architect and a quantity surveyor.

The implementation team is supported by the planning officer, procurement officer, project accountant, project finance officer and consultants. Overall, the infrastructure in the selected schools will be improved, more teachers employed and learning materials delivered to improve quality education.

Details reveal that the selected primary schools will have new toilets and water facilities constructed and unsafe structures replaced.

And for secondary schools, the money will be used to construct new classrooms, students’ dormitories, science laboratories, multi-purpose rooms to create common space for library.

This means that each secondary school will have basic physical structure, including classrooms, science laboratories, library, toilets for boys and girls, water facilities and electricity.

In addition, all primary school classrooms will have at least one blackboard, sufficient desks and chairs for 45 students and one table and chair for the teacher. 

“The science laboratory/multi-purpose room will have necessary furniture, storage facilities and IT equipment for virtual science education,” reads the brief.

Primary school children will be provided with one textbook per subject.

And for secondary students, they will be provided with textbooks in six subjects — Chemistry, Biology, Physics, English Language, Kiswahili language, and Mathematics.

A set of geometrical/mathematical instruments, one notebook/subject and pen and pencils will also be provided.

Also to be funded will be construction of modern ICT-enabled training facilities at the national level, ICT equipment–five desktops/laptops, one projector and one printer for each school, for piloting virtual science labs in about 100 selected secondary schools.

Enhanced equity

“All school structures will be physically disabled friendly and have permanent and/or semi-permanent classrooms, science laboratories/multi-purpose room, toilets and water facilities, which are safe, well lighted and ventilated,” reads the report.

Each school will be required to attain a student-classroom ratio of 45:1. Some 17,000 primary school teachers and 8,500 secondary teachers under Science, Mathematics and English (SME) are also targeted in the project. 

Report tabled during the meeting last week, reveals that the interventions SEQIP will improve quality of learning outcomes and reduce wastage in upper primary and secondary schools occasioned by high dropout and low transition. 

The project will also contribute to enhanced equity and inclusiveness as it focuses on poor, disadvantaged, marginalised and vulnerable children and the youth. 

At individual level, the project will promote social support, drive gender sensitisation in schools and offer scholarships. At school level, the project will seek to reduce teacher shortage and enhance teacher professional development.

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