School faces closure over broken-down classrooms

Class four pupils at Kenya Gauze primary in Budalang'i sitting in their dilapidated room. [Ignatius Odanga/Standard]

A public primary school in Budalang’i constituency risks closure over lack of decent classrooms.

Officers from the county Public Health department have issued a three-month notice, which expires in July, to Kenya Gauze Primary School to bring down five dilapidated mud-walled classrooms and build new ones.

The school, which was started in 2004 following demands by the local community, sits on less than an acre, and currently has 431 pupils.

The management said lack of infrastructure was their biggest challenge.

An Early Childhood Development Education Centre (ECDE) classroom the county government was putting up at the school, stalled in 2016.

Deputy school head Robert Mugabe said efforts to secure financial support from politicians and well-wishers had borne no fruit.

“We are facing many challenges and the school is likely to be closed by July if we don't rebuild the classrooms. Standard One to Five are mud-walled and are in poor condition... you cannot tell where the doors and the windows are,” said Mr Mugabe.

The school, in Bunyala North, is not fenced and is surrounded by a bush. The latrines are are also in a bad state.

Area MP Raphael Wanjala said National Government Constituencies Development Fund cash would be used to put the five classrooms.

Mr Wanjala did not, however, specify when that will be done given the notice to construct new classrooms expires in July.

Wanjala said they were yet to receive money from Treasury to facilitate construction.