The government and the World Bank have initiated a multimillion-shilling programme to enable schools in Migori County benefit from improved classrooms, laboratories, water supply and sanitation facilities.
It is an effort that will see selected public secondary and primary schools get new normal and special classrooms, good laboratories, reliable water sources and improved sanitation facilities such as toilets.
Launching the programme yesterday at Tarang’anya Boys High School in Kuria West Sub-County, County Commissioner Michael Mwangi Meru said various schools in some sub-counties had been identified to benefit from the infrastructural facilities in the next six months.
“The new classrooms, laboratories, a water source and a raft of sanitation projects would be provided within the next six months to benefit public schools in some counties,” Mr. Meru told stakeholders after breaking the ground in Tarang’anya School.
According to the implementation schedule read out by the county commissioner, the new infrastructure projects have been distributed only in Kuria West, Kuria East and Uriri Sub-Counties during the first phase of the programme.
As planned, schools in Kuria West will benefit from 17 laboratories, 16 classrooms, 47 sanitation projects (latrines) and 2 classrooms for special cases. In Kuria East Sub-County, 10 laboratories, 8 classrooms, 1 specials classroom, 26 sanitation facilities and a water source will be provided.
Likewise, 9 laboratories, 12 classrooms and 25 sanitation facilities will benefit schools in Uriri Sub-County, according to Mr. Meru, who was flanked by the County Director of Education Mr. Jacob Onyiego and a number of consultors and contractors assigned to implement the programme in the region.
The administrator noted that the government was keen to improve learning institutions in the country and pleaded with parents to support this effort.
The programme comes at a time when the state has also been pumping billions of shillings in the provision of new classrooms in phase one of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) learning in which the country is transitioning to a new system of education.
Students joining junior classes next year are being offered new classrooms in schools to realise smooth learning in their various schools.
Meru said the multiagency team crafted to monitor the construction of the new facilities will not tire to ensure that the contractors do a good job and deliver the facilities in time.
“The team will not entertain shoddy work from contractors and would insist for perfect results in order to allow the country get value for the money spent,” he explained.
By Mercy Saja and George Agimba