Education

School in Isiolo closed as women group set to recover Sh10 million land

Kambi Odha Primary School in Isiolo is set for closure. (Photo: Waweru Wairimu)

By Waweru Wairimu | Monday, May 20, 2024

The protracted row pitting the group, the Isiolo county government and education officials saw learning constantly disrupted.

Parents of Kambi Odha Primary School in Isiolo North are in a state of confusion following plans to close down the institution and revert its two-acre land to a group of 30 women who had provisionally offered the property 12 years ago.

Speaking on behalf of the 30 women said to be owners of the land, Maryam Godana said they had not benefited from the property throughout the time the institution existed. "We used to farm on this land and earn some income but not anymore," she said.

She added that the initial agreement with the pioneer teacher was to offer him space for three months but he extended the stay, and ganged up with some rogue residents to allegedly defraud them.

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The protracted row pitting the group, the Isiolo county government and education officials saw learning constantly disrupted, with the school's population dipping to the current 91 from 300 recorded three years ago.

Surprisingly, for more than a decade that the school has existed, it has yet to be registered as a public institution. This is despite the Teachers Service Commission's (TSC) deployment of teachers to the institution.

The school has four classes and a large social hall constructed over 10 years ago. The highest class at the school is Grade Six.

The County Education Office had in mid-2021 written to then-Governor Mohamed Kuti and Isiolo North MP Hassan Odha to intervene and help resolve the stalemate and ensure learning resumed without any disruptions.

Kambi Odha Primary School in Isiolo. (Photo: Waweru Wairimu)

Kambi Odha Primary School in Isiolo County. (Photo: Waweru Wairimu)

Talks between the county and the women's group happened at the time with the option of the former purchasing the land (then valued at Sh10 million) so that it would be registered as government property. The local community was also considered to offer alternative land for the school during the relocation.

At a meeting last week, parents' representatives, women's group members, educators, and County Education Board members decided to close the school and transfer the students to nearby institutions.

Among the reasons presented in support of the closure, according to those who were present, were the lack of funds by the Ministry of Education to purchase the land, inadequate space for expansion and the fact that the county could not engage in the deal as primary schools are a reserve of the national government.

It is reported that prior to the meeting, the County Public Health Department had ordered the school to shut down over, among other things, a lack of sanitation facilities.

Parents have expressed their frustrations following the development, lamenting that moving their children to other schools was burdensome.

County Parents Association Chairperson Ismael Galma appealed to nearby institutions to allow the learners being moved there to report to class with their former school uniforms.

"The schools should not block the pupils due to lack of uniform or other facilities such as desks but allow parents more time to purchase," he said.

A senior education official who did not want to be named confirmed that the process for the handover was underway.

Surprisingly, for more than a decade that the school has existed, it has yet to be registered as a public institution

Surprisingly, for more than a decade that Kambi Odha Primary School has existed, it has yet to be registered as a public institution. (Photo: Waweru Wairimu)