Ministry shuts down five schools for flouting rules

Embu County Director of Education James Kairu. [Joseph Muchiri, Standard]

Education officials in Embu County have closed five schools for failing to comply with requirements set by the Ministry of Education. 

Four of them are private primary schools while the fifth is a private secondary school.

The affected schools are Kiambere Universal Secondary (55 students), Joska Junior Primary (23 pupils), Mbuvori Seed of Hope (38), Jota Upper Hill Academy (210) and Mirindas Academy (36).

County Director of Education James Kairu said the schools were either not registered, lacked requisite structures or had structures in deplorable condition.

“The schools were closed at different times last year and their learners absorbed in other schools. No school will be allowed to operate until it has been inspected and found to have complied with all the regulations,” said Kairu.

He said Kiamuringa Universal Secondary suffered from poor management, lack of enough teachers, had untrained teachers and poor boarding facilities.

Joska, Jota, Mirindas and Mbuvori were not properly registered, having operated with provisional licences that had expired at the times of their closure. Mirindas was also required to get adequate land to satisfy ministry requirements.

In Nakuru, a Catholic primary school in Mau Summit, Kuresoi North, was yesterday shut down for a second time following ministry’s directive.

St Timothy Academy was first shut down in September last year when the Government launched a crackdown on schools that lacked proper facilities.

Elsewhere, Form One admission at a school in Trans Nzoia County was marred by confusion following a standoff between its sponsors and the Government.

The Catholic Church, the sponsor of the school, took issue with the Government over alleged failure to consult before St Francis Makunga Secondary School was elevated from a sub-county to a county institution.

Tension was high when the local County Director of Education (CDE) Dr Salome Maina drove into the school and stopped admission, attracting protests from parents who had accompanied their children to the school. [Joseph Muchiri, Kennedy Gachuhi, and Osinde Obare]