State pledges aid for schools hit by floods

By Dennis Onyango and Nick Oluoch

Kisumu, Kenya: The Government has pledged support to schools where learning has been paralysed by floods in the country.

 Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary George Godia said they will release emergency funds in aid of the affected schools.

Godia’s assurance comes at a time when the on-going rains have continued to wreck havoc across the country.

“We are yet to receive comprehensive reports from County Directors of Education on the effects of the floods. We will then work out ways on how to handle the situation,” he said.

Prof Godia, however, disclosed that the ministry has received information on damages of classrooms, sunken latrines, and inaccessibility of roads leading to the learning institutions.

The PS said the ministry will partner with other organizations such as the Red Cross to restore sanity in the schools. “This problem (floods) should be settled permanently because it has badly affected us,” he said.

As the PS gave his assurance, students of Ahero Girls secondary school in Kisumu County were send home Sunday after River Nyando burst its banks, disrupting learning at the institution.

1,150 girls

The more than 1,150 girls left the institution early Sunday morning for fear of the raging waters that seeped through into their dormitories and classrooms.

Meanwhile, learning is yet to resume at Nyora and Kabuto Primary Schools in Nyatike district after flood victims who have been camping at the schools left them in poor state.