Flooding Damages 150 schools As Pressure Mounts on Govt to Suspend School Reopening
A group of church and political leaders has urged the government to postpone the reopening of schools starting Monday due to the country’s severe flooding.
Flooding has so far damaged 150 schools across the nation, with some still submerged and without roofs hours before the reopening date.
Collapsed classrooms, inundated schools, and wrecked rooftops—these are the scenes ahead of the country’s scheduled school reopening.
The scenario impacts 150 schools, with students expected to return for the second term on Monday.
Heavy winds have ripped the iron sheets off ten of the classrooms at Sikinga Primary School in Nambale, Busia County, forcing over 600 students to occupy four of them.
The principal of Sikinga Primary, Phanice Ngaira, expressed the extent of the damage, stating that, in addition to classrooms, there were desks, chairs, and stationery—items that were irreparable—and the loss totaled over a million.
Join Teachers Updates on Facebook
Joseph Matini, Chairman of Sikinga Primary, appealed for assistance, stating that they requested help from anyone who could assist them so that they could erect the classrooms and the children could continue with their studies.
The school is one of eight in the county that may be forced to suspend classes to allow for repairs and time for the flood to subside. Floods have affected at least six primary schools and one secondary school in the Budalangi Constituency, which is prone to flooding.
They are Maduwa, Runyu, Bulwani, Budala, Namabusi ACK, and Musoma Secondary School. For the nearly 1,700 flood victims, the order to leave the schools where they were seeking refuge is a double tragedy.
Christine Omondi, a Budalangi citizen, spoke out about her situation, and Raphael Wanjala, Budalangi’s MP, agreed.
Flood victims in Nairobi share a similar fate, seeking shelter in nearby schools in Mathare and Kiamaiko.
Several ecclesiastical and political leaders have expressed concerns about the reopening of schools at a time when the country is dealing with the aftermath of flooding.
Rev. Thegu Mutahi, Moderator of PCEA, emphasized that schools were set to reopen the following day but urged that if there was any place where children could be at risk, those schools should not reopen because they did not want to lose kids.
In Our Other News: Schools Reopening: CS Murkomen Issues Directives to Parents and Motorists
Eugene Wamalwa, Party Leader of DAP-K, added that they wanted to request that, as schools were set to reopen the next day, it would have been better if the government considered postponing school reopening because the situation was dire.
Kalonzo Musyoka, Party Leader of Wiper, stressed the urgency of the matter, stating that Raila and a team of MPs had said the government should declare it an emergency issue, as they did not seem to have taken the matter seriously, so these issues were very important.
The Education Ministry announced the formation of a multi-agency team to address the challenges caused by the rains and safeguard school-aged children.
Flooding Damages 150 schools As Pressure Mounts on Govt to Suspend School Reopening
