Kakamega County has the highest teacher shortage in the country according to Lugari Member of Parliament Nabii Nabwera.
Nabwera who is also a member of the National Assembly Education Committee made the disclosure during a Board of Management meeting at Lumakanda Township Secondary School.
He regretted that the vast county tops the shortfall list with his own constituency being the most affected out of the 12 constituencies.
He said at the moment, the county needs over 7, 000 teachers in order to attain its Curriculum Based Establishment.
The first-time lawmaker majorly attributed the dismal performance of secondary schools in the constituency to inadequate staffing- a challenge he said he would sort out soon.
“The good news is that you now have an MP who has decided to deal with the problem not only for Lugari but for the entire country,” said Nabwera.
“We have to move out and look for solutions. We are engaging the Teachers Service Commission and in the recent recruitment of teachers, Lugari received the highest number countrywide of 200 teachers although most of them went to juniors’ secondary schools,” he said.
He urged school principals to be patient as the commission sorts out the junior secondary school staffing needs.
He said: “It is in a crisis. We must give them teachers first before we address the shortage in our secondary schools.”
The MP called on school heads across the constituency to manage growth in their respective schools basing on the available infrastructure.
“If you don’t manage growth you will burst. Don’t enrol 1000 students when your capacity is 800. Resources must be planned for. If you manage growth I will grow with you,” he advised principals.
Nabwera committed to transform the poor performance of secondary school in the constituency within the shortest time possible.
He appealed to all stakeholders to actively play their part in ensuring students het desired results.
“Anybody who is in a school system be it as a teacher, a Board of Management member or a Parents Association member in any school within the constituency, in me you now have a partner. I will play my part although I am a very demanding partner. What I want is good results. I don’t want Es. In the entire county Lugari has been leading in producing Es I want that to change,” the legislator said.
“I have invested Sh5 million to take care of students’ tests and to motivate teachers and students. I cannot imagine another year without a single ‘A’ in Lugari’s 101 secondary schools yet a single school elsewhere is producing 100 ‘A’s,” Nabwera stated.
He added that as part of the transformation agenda of the constituency’s education sector, in April they plan to have an academic camp where the best male students will converge at Kivaywa high school and the females at Bishop Njenga girls to interact with top notch teachers.
Others present at the meeting were Lugari Sub County Director of Education Magdalene Igwatai and Lumakanda Township Secondary School Principal Agnes Gakunda.
By Melechezedeck Ejakait and Grace Waruiru
