Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has commissioned the construction of a Sh 20 million laboratory block building at Lityei Secondary School in West Pokot County.
Mr. Machogu, while conducting a groundbreaking ceremony at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) Lityei mixed-day secondary school on Saturday, donated 10 million from the government towards the project to be received before October.
Kapenguria MP Samuel Moroto, who had accompanied the Cabinet Secretary, donated Sh2 million and promised an additional Sh8 million from the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF) kitty for the project.
The Education CS promised to ensure three more teachers are hired at the school within the next two weeks to bridge the teacher gap.
Machogu at the same time commissioned the use of four classrooms at the school that were constructed through funds from the National Government Constituency Development Fund (CDF) kitty.
The CS urged the teachers and students at the school to put in extra effort to make sure the school performs well on the national examination.
He said that the Kenya Kwanza government has hired 30,000 more teachers across the country in less than a year since taking office to help address the teachers’ shortage that has been prevalent throughout the country.
“The Kenya Kwanza government has not finished one year since its inception into office but has considered employing 30,000 more teachers in its first years in a bid to improve the education sector,” he said.
He noted that the shortage of teachers is not only witnessed in West Pokot County but is across the country, adding that going forward, the government will be employing 20,000 more teachers to bridge the gap.
CS Machogu said the hiring of teachers would be done progressively and that, unlike in the past, by the end of the next few years, the gap in the number of teachers in public schools would have closed.
By Anthony Melly
