Refurbished classrooms motivate Perkerra Primary School pupils
Perkerra Primary School pupils receive books and pens from a member of the So They Can, a non-for-profit organisation during the commissioning of the renovated classrooms and offices at the institution on April 26, 2022.
As the Class Eight pupils prepare for the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination their concentration is interrupted by an annoying cowbell sound outside their classroom.
At times the intensity of the sound gets worse as the cows rear their heads, peeping into classrooms through the broken window panes, forcing teachers to suspend lessons as pupils drive away the cows.
Just before the cows are driven away, a pupil asks the teacher when the problem of cows invading their school compound will end.
While attempting to answer the question, she slips as she avoids a muddy pothole at the centre of the dilapidated classroom whose walls are almost crumbling.
As the cows graze in the school compound, a Grade One pupil narrowly escapes death. A cow almost gores her on her way to the toilet block.
"When I joined this school, I could hardly concentrate due to the noisy cows’ bells. We waste a lot of time driving them from the school compound instead of using the valuable time to revise ahead of our KCPE exams due in six months," says 15-year-old Class 8 pupil.
"The deafening noise by the bells make things worse," says another pupil.
The renovated Perkerra Primary School classrooms.
These are some of the conditions that more than 200 learners have to put up with at Perkerra Primary School in Marigat, Baringo County for nearly 50 years.
The school located at the vast Perkerra Irrigation scheme was started in 1974.
Sh8 million
However, this will now be a thing of the past as Good Samaritans have stepped in to help where the local National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) has failed.
This project which is fully funded by Bayer East Africa to a tune of Sh8 million and implemented by its partner, So They Can, an education not for profit organisation involved renovations of eight classrooms, and offices. A perimeter fence around the seven acres school compound has also been erected.
"As Bayer East Africa, we remain committed to a promise of enhancing the quality of life. We pledge to partner and collaborate with the Perkerra community and Marigat as a whole. Bayer remains committed to the principles of sustainable development and its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen," said Managing Director of Bayer East Africa, Laurent Perrier.
Managing Director Bayer East Africa Laurent Perrier (centre) cuts the tape during the commissioning of renovated classrooms and offices at Perkerra Primary School in Marigat, Baringo on April 26, 2022.
He added: "We understand that for a community to progress, its principles must be deeply rooted in education. An educated child is an empowered generation. A community's economic and social sustainability depends heavily on youth education and involvement in every aspect of development including leadership," said Mr Perrier.
New look infrastructure
So They Can country manager, Boniface Mouti said the new look infrastructure will save the pupils from further anguish and create a better learning environment.
"This school was an eyesore. The roofs were leaking while the lack of a perimeter fence made it a grazing field where livestock disrupted learning. The improved infrastructure will attract more pupils to the school," said Mr Mouti.
Added Mr Mouti: "The education journey of these 200 pupils will never be the same again as they will be learning in a conducive environment like other pupils across the country. The new infrastructure has also given teachers time to work without interruption."
Headteacher Barnabas Limo said: “The renovation of dilapidated infrastructure in our school has motivated the pupils and teachers."
"We feel relieved as our children are now safe. Now, the pupils have all the reasons to study hard," said parents’ representative Samson Markoko during the commissioning of the classrooms on Tuesday.
Opportunities for education in the vast Baringo County are limited as most children are not going to school.
Banditry, drought, displacement, and steep social and economic barriers have affected education delivery and contributed to one of the lowest school enrolment rates out of the 47 counties.
So They Can, is among the many not-for-profit organisations that are working hard with the national government to contribute to sustainable and relevant primary education for all in the county.
"Our goal is to enroll poor and marginalised out of school children across Baringo County back in schools," said Mr Mouti.
