Ndhiwa Member of Parliament Martin Owino has petitioned the Ministry of Education to upgrade at least three schools in the constituency to Cluster 1 status, arguing that the constituency loses its top students to schools elsewhere.
The MP said top learners from the region should be retained in the area. The legislator wrote to the Ministry of Education requesting that the Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba to consider reviewing the status of Magina Girls High School, Ratanga Boys and Mirogi Boys High school to category one (C1).
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
Ndhiwa has 52 senior schools, but none of them is classified as a C1 school. However, it is not a requirement that every constituency should have a C1 school.
“We failed to get an A in the last examination and this can be attributed to the fact that majority of bright students from this region were enrolled in senior schools in other places. Ndhiwa should equally have a national school,” the legislator said.
Homa Bay County has four C1 schools – Asumbi Girls, Ogande Girls, Mbita Boys and Homa Bay High school.
Mr Owino said parents from Ndhiwa Constituency choose to take their children to such schools, believing they will perform better despite learning institutions in his constituency also producing top candidates.
“I appeal to the ministry to consider my request,” the legislator said.
Earlier this year, Mr Ogamba made a proposal to elevate more schools to C1 status. This was after some Cluster 3 and 4 schools reported low enrolment of Grade 10 learners during the transition of the first cohort under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system.
Mr Owino said the National Government Constituency Development (NG-CDF) in Ndhiwa Constituency is already supporting hundreds of learners who are residents of the constituency but study in other regions.
“We are spending a lot of money in other national schools. This time, we want other people to also come to Ndhiwa. This will increase our social capital,” he said.
The legislator spoke when he witnessed the disbursement of NG-CDF funds at Kaguria Senior School in South Kabuoch. He told parents not to rush to send their learners to enrol in institutions far away from home.
“Some parents have a notion that students can only perform better when they are in schools that are located away from their homes. Children can get good grades if they learn next to their homes. We are also in a better position to support needy students if they are learning from within the constituency,” the legislator said.
Sh40 million was disbursed to various secondary schools across the country. The money benefited 7,129 students from a group of more than 10,000 who sent their applications.
Among the beneficiaries are 138 vulnerable students who get full scholarships with NG-CDF paying Sh5.2 million for their education, with each getting Sh40,000.
“We are supporting the training of artisans including plumbers and beauticians. They can use the skills to earn a living,” he said.
Meanwhile, up to 200 students who have different forms of disability got Sh2 million to support their education.
“We spent a total of Sh73.35 million to support the education of vulnerable students. This is in addition to the distribution of 990 bags of maize, 350 bags of beans, and 200 bags of green grams which I got from the Child Welfare Society. This is a broader plan to ensure no learner is sent home when government capitation fails to arrive on time,” Mr Owino said.
