How Migori teacher kept girls in school during Covid break

Some people get into the teaching profession because of perks. Others do it for passion. Dorcas Oyugi, 66, falls into the latter category. She is currently the principal of Wiser Girls Secondary School in Muhuru Bay, Migori County, a school that supports underprivileged girls. 

But her journey goes way back. The University of Nairobi graduate, who also holds a Master's in Education Administration from Kenyatta University, was born and brought up in Awendo, Migori County, and it’s her humble roots that birthed her desire to return to the community and serve the less fortunate.

The mother of two, a boy and girl - and a grandmother of four, rose through the ranks to become the principal of Utawala Secondary School between 1994 and 2009. She is married to a retired Local Government Trust Fund employee.

"Utawala was then under provincial administration, and was a model institution for students," recalls Ms Oyugi.

"The chair of the board was the PS, Internal Security. Majority of the parent population at Utawala worked in the provincial administration. It gave me an opportunity to interact with parents from all walks of life; Permanent Secretaries, high ranking government officials and those from humble backgrounds."

Ms Oyugi says leaving Utawala to take on a new role at Wiser was not a career move, but a calling. 

Wiser Girls Secondary School is located in Muhuru Bay, Migori County. WISER is an acronym for, Women's Institute for Secondary Education and Research. 

"Most people would want to stay in the city. What pushed me was the golden opportunity to empower girls. I come from a humble background and I know the struggles I went through to access education. I desired to support rural underprivileged girls with the knowledge and experience I had gained,” she says while adding:

"It was a difficult decision to make because my son had just graduated, but had not got a job. My daughter was getting into university. My husband had then retired and relocated upcountry." 

The Oyugis talked as a family and agreed that the best thing was for Dorcas to take up the rural job. It was a hard decision, but, in retrospect, she says she's glad she made it. 

"When you want to help others you must be ready to sacrifice. I have no regrets for leaving friends and familiar surroundings for a virgin land to start afresh. 

"When I joined Wiser there was no electricity or clean water, which many people in the city take for granted. But that's the cost that pioneers have to bear," she shares.

Today, Wiser is close to the hearts of Muhuru Bay residents as their daughters have gone to school, attended university and graduated.  

Delaying retirement 

Dorcas joined Wiser in 2010. She signed two four-year contracts. The first time she was supposed to retire in 2018, there was a big transition. 

"In 2017, we went on a double stream and there was a huge construction progress. 

"If you have two classes of, say, Form 1, that is referred to as a double stream. Initially, Wiser was a single stream. But due to demand, we had to transition to a double stream."

Covid-19 burst through the classroom door just as Dorcas was about to hang up her chalkboard. The school's management requested her to hold on to the oars until they went through these choppy waters, so the transition could be smooth. 

No girl left behind 

"When Covid-19 was announced on March 15, 2020, we convened an urgent meeting to come up with a response mechanism. 

"We put contingency measures and bought thermal guns, hand sanitiser and created an isolation unit in the unfortunate event that a student got infected," Ms Oyugi says. 

When the girls were informed that schools had been indefinitely closed, the news shattered them. Some, especially the Form 3s and 4s, said they were safer in school. 

"I have determined staff. Our aim is to empower girls, most of whom are underprivileged and are under full scholarships. 

"We created a WhatsApp group for the students, and put all the teachers in the group. Knowing fully well that many of the girls came from families without Smartphones, we asked them to give us phone numbers of relatives, friends or neighbours who had smartphones they could access," Ms Oyugi says.

The girls were given homework, and started the WhatsApp group the week after schools were closed in March 2020.

The uptake was low and slow, with only half of the 180 students being active. This prompted Dorcas to make home visits to all the 180 students, most of whom live in Muhuru Bay. 

"I wanted to personally find out from them what the problem was. If they did not have smartphones, I recorded that. At the same time, we had copies of assignments we were giving them. 

"We have a programme that engages interns every year. That year, we engaged four interns. Then we divided Muhuru Bay into four regions. We used boda bodas to send homework to homes of students who would not access WhatsApp. 

"Most places, you find you can only go up to a certain level. I would use boda boda, but if it was a place that was inaccessible to a motorcycle, I would go on foot," says Ms Oyugi. 

During these visits, Dorcas found out that most of the girls lacked food and sanitary pads. She made the visits in two weeks, wrote a report and convened a meeting of the school's board to come up with plans to address the challenges the girls were facing. 

"We started giving the girls relief food from April to December 2020. They came to school on a monthly basis. When they came, it worked well for their emotions. 

"It reconnected them with the school and gave them hope. We counselled and gave them dry foods like rice, beans, wheat flour and sugar. They'd also be given two sticks of bar soap and sanitary pads," Dorcas says.

The school also footed the girls' transport to-and-fro. Knowing the vulnerability of girls and not wanting to take chances, Dorcas returned to their homes and asked their families to identify trusted boda boda riders for the girls.

Staff retention

"My staff are the best. When the pandemic was announced, we met and shared what we could do, as the situation was fluid and nobody knew when schools would reopen. 

"They agreed that we needed to keep the girls academically engaged. Otherwise, they would be victims of the vicious cycles of teenage pregnancies or marriages," Ms Oyugi says.

On her advice, Wiser retained all staff at their current pay scales. Besides, the staff was facilitated with airtime for Zoom meetings, as they worked remotely. Dorcas held Zoom meetings with class teachers every Monday, to give her weekly reports. Every she met the whole staff, still via Zoom. 

The meetings fostered cohesion among the staff, and offered psychosocial support to teachers, most of whom have been grossly overlooked during the pandemic. This passionate career educator was awarded a Head of State Commendation in 2005 and was recognised for the work she did in Utawala.