Players in the education sector have hailed the role played by the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) in the improvement of education quality in institutions of learning.
The kitty set aside by the law is meant to address the socio-economic development of the people at the constituency level in order to reduce poverty and enhance regional equity.
A visit to various schools in Kirinyaga Central Constituency reveals detailed infrastructural development, aimed at safeguarding the well-being of students in the area which provides a cordial learning environment hence improving the performance of the learners.
At Karaini Primary School, through NG-CDF, the constituency renovated all classrooms and constructed an additional five to accommodate the growing population and support the government’s policy on 100 percent pupils’ transition to junior secondary schools.
The school head teacher John Irungu said the face-lifting programme has transformed the school in a way that ensures that it would last for decades to come. The school’s classrooms were fitted with tiles, new iron sheets, painting of walls and replacement of broken window panes as well as fitting of cabros on all footpaths, he noted.
“Since the facelift programme was completed, there has been a lot of change for the pupils, whereby they are spending more time in their studies, unlike before, where they had to set aside time to clean the classes which were in a deplorable state,” he said, adding that as a consequence, the school has set academic targets to improve the school performance
Irungu said that the hygiene status of the school has improved, and learners are now stimulated by the state of their school.
He added that the school has experienced an increased intake of learners who are joining the school due to the friendly learning environment.
Kaitheri Primary School, located at the outskirts of Kerugoya Town, has a population of 1046 students, and construction of three new classrooms and renovations of others is ongoing. The head teacher Rose Wangari said the major challenge has been the congestion which the CDF project was expected to reduce.
She hailed the government for the quick supply of textbooks to learners while at the same time challenging the management of NG-CDF to set aside funds for the construction of a library and laboratory.
“We are a large family of 1046 pupils, when the MP visited us, he promised to build an additional three classrooms which will be commissioned in the next three weeks. We are happy and we request for a laboratory and library. The ministry has already supplied the necessary textbooks and we will deliver the results in terms of performance,” Ms Wangari said.
Catherine, a parent at Kaitheri Primary, said the renovations have reduced the cleaning workload as the pupils report back home as clean as they were when they went to school in the morning.
Kirinyaga Central NG-CDF management said the projects in the schools are identified by local communities and then funded through the kitty after a consensus is reached. The facelift will be done in all 35 primary schools and 36 secondary schools in the constituency.
Under the patronage of area MP Joseph Gachoki Gitari, the management is in the process of first completing the already started projects before embarking on new ones, in line with a recent Presidential directive.
Nahasion Kinyua, area MP representative, stated that the facelift programme started with two schools, which were in a deplorable state, and it will be expanded to more schools so that eventually, every school will be catered for according to its needs.
He said within one year, all the schools will be renovated including Kirinyaga Central Training and Vocational College.
Statistics show that almost 80 percent of the funding given to constituencies goes to support education either through infrastructure, CDF bursaries and indirect funding where schools benefit together with neighboring communities such as in the use of boreholes developed by the fund.
By Mutai Kipngetich
