2,000 Pupils Yet to Return to Flood-Ravaged Mai Mahiu School
Ngeya Primary School in Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, is struggling with an abnormally high rate of absenteeism since the flood tragedy that left 62 people dead and over 30 others missing.
Five days after schools reopened following a two-week delay due to heavy rains that caused flooding, over 2,000 students have kept away from the classrooms.
Education officials report that over half of the school’s population, numbering over 3,000, has not reported to the classrooms.
The trauma from the tragedy and the displacement of over 100 families into two camps in Mai Mahiu town are the reasons given by parents and teachers for their absence.
The school head teacher, Josephat Nduru, noted on Friday that the majority of the pupils were from the villages affected by the two-week-old Mai Mahiu floods tragedy.
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He explained that most of the students lost their belongings, including school uniforms, books, and other school items, thus hindering them from attending classes.
Nduru stated that the school enrolled over 3,000 students, yet over 2,000 affected by the dam tragedy have yet to return due to their lack of mental strength.
Nduru identified mental instability, which has caused trauma, as noticeable among the students even as counselors continued engaging them and their parents.
He urged the government to hire counselors and mentors to work with the teachers who have formed a mental wellness team to address mental health issues among students.
Ann Wanjiru, a parent, observed that the incident had the greatest psychological impact on minors, leaving many of them traumatized and unable to sleep.
She appreciated the understanding from teachers, emphasizing that counseling was the only way forward.
This situation unfolded as a committee appointed to address the issues facing the families affected by the tragedy embarked on the process of buying school uniforms and books for the learners.
According to Naivasha Deputy County Commissioner Mutua Kisilu, learning had started off smoothly in most of the schools in the area.
Meanwhile, two secondary schools in Kakamega County failed to reopen on Monday after parents withdrew pupils.
The schools, St Stephen’s Namulungu Mixed Secondary School and Namulungu Girls in Matungu constituency, remain deserted, with a security guard manning closed gates, overgrown grass, and vandalized school infrastructure.
Stakeholders started raising concerns after the schools, with a population of 450 students, failed to reopen as expected.
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It was established that both schools were headed by one principal, who later opted to phase out the girls’ school and decided to move some students to Namulungu Mixed Secondary School without consulting the sponsor, parents, or other stakeholders.
On Tuesday, Bishop Joseph Wandera of ACK Mumias Diocese held a crisis meeting with the two school boards and demanded immediate reopening of the schools as well as the suspension of the principal.
2,000 Pupils Yet to Return to Flood-Ravaged Mai Mahiu School
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