Why schooling is real hell in Langas Primary

By Edwin CheserekThe pressure of slum life and the phantom of recurrent political anarchy weighs heavily on Langas Primary School in Eldoret.‘Four schools in one’ is how residents describe the congestion of the lone public school that today serves the many slums that make up the vast informal Langas settlement.Teachers and pupils in gumboots wading through mud during every rain season and festering refuse in the school compound is an all too familiar sight.The unique story of Langas Primary is that many times it has served as a refuge school for displaced children in seasons of political instability, and over time, overcrowding, lack of hygiene and a general shortage of learning resources have almost become part of the school’s enduring image. When floods sweep through the wooden classrooms, as they often do, only gumboots can protect the teachers and students from the sodden floors.A forlorn David Karanja, the head teacher, sits in his office, which is about the only modern structure in the compound and watches helplessly as the nightmare of a crowding school becomes grimmer every passing day.For the two years he has been at the helm, Karanja says the school has survived the influx of displaced children, rehabilitated street urchins and worse, a surge in orphans as the HIV/Aids scourge continues to take its toll in the impoverished neighbourhood. Two years ago when Karanja was heading a school for the displaced children, Karanja had learnt how to cope with scarcity, but at Langas he has to deal with acute over congestion as well.Teaching in progress at Langas Primary School in Eldoret. The school is estimated to have about 2,000 pupils. [PHOTO: PETER OCHIENG/STANDARD]Only choice"We desperately need another public school in this area to ease the pressure because teachers can hardly cope with the overwhelming enrollment rates," said the head teacher.After the disputed elections of 2007 the school saw an influx of displaced pupils enrolling in the school. When the donor-funded schools at the Eldoret Show Ground IDP camp also closed down, the school was the only choice for the displaced children."Displaced children came here without uniforms, books or desks but there was no way we could turn them back as they were desperate," added Karanja.The trend has been that in the troubled times, schools in the rural parts of Eldoret are the worst affected and fleeing parents usually have Langas primary as the first stop school for their children.The situation, teachers say is to blame for the school’s poor showing in national examinations since many of these children usually go back to their schools when things normalise."Teachers can never really plan ahead for their pupils because you can never tell who is staying and who will be leaving," said a teacher at the school.On a normal day teachers with gumboots will be seen struggling to control the crowds of children, an exercise that even the headmaster admits is daunting.Langas Primary has close to 2,000 pupils irregularly spread across the classes, posing challenges in teaching, monitoring pupils’ class progress and truancy and other things.The number is way beyond the average 800 that is acceptable yet there has never been an increase in teachers to match sweling number of pupils.Loud music"This is a slum, and many of these children leave home without food and one cannot expect them to attend school daily on empty stomachs," said a teacher.The slum children of Langas Primary School have lived long at the school to learn to live with the chaos surrounding the school.Some churches stage their religious crusades right in the middle of the day when class is in progress. "The neighbourhood is very squeezed and we just have to make do because there is little else one can do," said another teacher.Matatus plying the nearby route also play loud music distracting the pupils.Langas is a cosmopolitan settlement that has weathered the torments of post-election skirmishes .Its population, which is mostly low class, was set apart by the divisive politics of 2007 General Election that eventually turned bloody for the early part of 2008.

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