The government has identified 293 secondary schools in Homa Bay County to benefit from construction of additional classrooms.
County Commissioner Moses Lilan said the schools will receive over 324 million shillings under the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) infrastructure development programme.
He said the construction of the classrooms was part of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s flagship projects to reduce congestion in learning institutions.
He noted that the expected form one double intake in 2023 coupled with 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school would stretch the facilities in schools.
“The government is constructing a total of 11,600 new classrooms countrywide as an economic stimulus project and in Homa-Bay, we want to ensure we deliver quality work,” he said.
He said the projects should be completed and handed over by the contractors by April next year.
Speaking during a stakeholders sensitisation meeting at Nyalkinyi Secondary School, Lilan said the new classrooms include schools in the islands of Lake Victoria.
He noted that the schools were identified after a study was conducted on the needs of different learning institutions. He said the works will begin immediately they finish recruiting contractors.
“There are schools that will get five new classrooms while others will just get one classroom. This is based on the level of deficits within the institutions,” Lilan said.
“The government has come up with a design of constructing the classrooms. We don’t expect one contractor to be doing work in more than one school,” he added.
He said Deputy County Commissioners and Sub County Education Officers have been given a mandate to supervise the implementation of the project within their areas of jurisdiction.
The administrator said they are keen on integrity issues to ensure prudent utilization of funds. “This is similar to the recent desks project where local artisans were picked. We will engage local contractors who will effectively carry out the job,” he said.
The administrator warned school managements that any misappropriation of the funds will attract dire consequences.
“The government estimates that each classroom to cost Sh788, 000. We will provide the needed guidance and oversight to ensure prudent use of resources,” he said.
Homa Bay County Director of Education, Eunice Khaemba, and the County Works Officer, Robert Kongere also attended the meeting.
Kongere encouraged local contractors to apply for the tenders to get considered. “It’s one of the ways in which the government economically empowers local contractors hence they should submit their applications,” Kongere said.
By Davis Langat
