End land grabbing in Kibra to save schools, MP Okoth says
Kibra MP Imran Okoth leads Nairobi Deputy Governor Anne Kananu (left) and other guests on a tour of the new Kibera Day Secondary School in Nairobi on February 13, 2021.
Mr Okoth has asked the Ministry of Education to intervene, saying most of the land set aside for schools is no longer available as grabbers have taken it.
Kibra MP Imran Okoth wants the government to solve the perennial land grabbing problem in the informal settlement that has hampered the expansion of learning institutions.
Mr Okoth has asked the Ministry of Education to intervene, saying most of the land set aside for schools is no longer available as grabbers have taken it.
The first-time lawmaker said they have been forced to build secondary schools within primary schools, hence the urgent need for action by the government.
Kibra MP Imran Okoth leads Nairobi Deputy Governor Anne Kananu (left) and other guests on a tour of the new Kibera Day Secondary School in Nairobi on February 13, 2021.
Photo credit: Collins Omulo | Nation Media Group
Mr Okoth also called on the government to increase the number of teachers in the area, saying it is too low compared to the number of students.
“Most of our schools have learners but the teacher:student ratio is low. Even in this school we have opened, only the principal, the deputy and a few teachers are employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) while the rest are under the board of management,” he said.
Key project
The MP spoke at the official opening of Kibera Day Secondary School, a Sh87.6 million boys' institution for learners who cannot afford to study in boarding schools.
The project was fully funded by the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
The school, whose foundation was laid by the late MP Ken Okoth years before his death, has several administration offices, 12 modern classrooms, 24 ablution blocks, three laboratories and a kitchen.
Nairobi Deputy Governor Anne Kananu plants a tree at the newly opened Kibera Day Secondary School in Nairobi on February 13, 2021.
Photo credit: Collins Omulo | Nation Media Group
Mr Okoth said it has a capacity for 1,000 learners although it has only 402 students from Form One to Four. He said its construction arose from the need for a school for learners from very poor backgrounds as well as the need for a proper day school in Kibra.
Kibera Boys’ Day Secondary school is the second school to be built in Kibra following the completion of the Sh48.2 million Mbagathi Girls’ High School in February 2018.
The ODM legislator added that at the end of the month, he will commission the construction of another boys’ secondary school at Jamhuri Primary School.
It will be completed in 15 months and will be fully funded by the NG-CDF.
Nairobi Deputy Governor Anne Kananu said her administration is keen on ensuring that no child is left behind when it comes to education.
“I’m delighted that the new facilities will give students an opportunity to learn comfortably. I look forward to unveiling more education facilities in the city,” she said.
