Educational stakeholders in Ganze constituency have blamed poor infrastructure and poverty for the dismal performance in schools within the constituency. The stakeholders, who includes political leaders, public servants and locals, have consequently called on the government and other well-wishers to urgently address the matter so that schools in the constituency can compete favorably with their counterparts in other areas. Speaking during the launch of Tungule Foundation, a community-based organization (CBO) formed to address educational matters in the constituency, the stakeholders lamented that Ganze schools had failed to produce quality grades in primary and secondary education due to lack of facilities and role models.
The foundation is the brainchild of Mr. Ken Kazungu, the Chief Officers for Roads and Public Works in the Kilifi County Government, who is also a resident of the constituency that has been branded the poorest constituency in the county on several occasions. Mr. Kazungu said many bright students in the constituency fail to secure their places in secondary school due to lack of fees, while educational standards were low due to the poor learning environment students are subjected to. He said bursaries being issued by the government through the National Government Constituency Development Fund and the county government were inadequate and there was need for deliberate efforts geared towards availing bursaries to all poor but bright students. “That is why I decided to come up with the idea of forming the foundation, which will have the mandate of mobilizing funds for both educational infrastructure and school fees for bright but poor students,” he said.
Mr. Kazungu said more than hapf of those who sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education do not get secondary school education despite the government policy of 100 percent transition from primary to secondary school. “Chiefs do their best to ensure the students report to form one, but due to lack of school fees, the learners stay in the schools for only one term and then return home,”he lamented. “The situation is dire and requires concerted efforts like what we have started to ensure that we reverse the situation.” He noted that almost 100 percent of the schools do not have sufficient classrooms, a situation that has been worsened by the co
mpulsory primary education which he said had led to a lot of congestion.
The chief officer said transition rates from secondary school to university were lowest in the constuency, noting that schools in the entire constituency hardly send a total of 100 student, a number than can be achieved by one school in other areas with better facilities. Mombasa Deputy Governor Dr. William Kingi, who hails from Kilifi County, said although the government had a policy of 100 percent transition from primary secondary school, transition rates in Ganze and Kilifi County in general stood at about 40 percent. “The situation is even worse when it comes to university entry, as the transition rate from secondary school to university many times stand at less than 15 percent,” Dr. Kimngi,. Who was the chief guest during the launch of the foundation said.
He said many parents in the area cannot afford fees for secondary and university education for their children due to poverty and hailed Mr. Kazungu for forming the foundation to address poor infrastructure and pay fees for bright students. Juliana Rehema Chea, a teacher at Chapungu Primary School, said the situation is dire in the constituency as the population of learners is higher than the schools can accommodate. She called on the government and well-wishers to do all that is possible to lift the educational standards in the area and this end abject poverty that has been associated with lack of education.