Bungoma High School
“I believe friends and well-wishers of Bungoma Secondary can see the dream of educating the children in the slums come true.”
Principal Kituyi
 Bungoma High School is a Muslim based school but over 30% of students are non-Muslim. The school prioritizes the education of students from the surrounding areas, mostly slum areas, over religious denomination. The school is run by a very enthusiastic and highly competent Principal, Oliver Kituyi. Oliver has devoted his live to the education of his students and to the improvement of school facilities and standards. The school, like the primary schools of the other community-based organizations, provides students with a good level of education, one meal per day and a safe, supportive environment.
Current Project:
Bungoma Secondary Student Sponsorship & Water System
Bungoma Muslim High School
Principal: Oliver Kituyi
(a) Location and Access
Bungoma Secondary School is a mixed single-stream day Secondary Institution. The school lies in South Kanduyi Sub-location, Musikoma Location, Kanduyi Division in Bungoma District. The school is situated within Mjini village, a suburb of Bungoma town, and can be reached along the Bungoma-Kakamega road towards Mumias town, some 3km from Bungoma Town Centre.
The current enrolment per class is as shown in the table below;-
Bungoma High School Enrolment, February 2009.
| |
|
Form 1 |
Form 2 |
Form 3 |
Form 4 |
Form 5 |
|
| |
Boys |
38 |
48 |
32 |
32 |
150 |
|
| |
Girls |
34 |
36 |
24 |
22 |
116 |
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| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
TOTAL |
72 |
84 |
56 |
54 |
266 |
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CHALLENGES:
The school has its students coming from:
- Orphaned environment
- Poor slum background
TRADITIONS:
The school hails from the slums where traditions are so strong where most of the girls are married off after primary school. Hence the board members are trying all they can to have them in school by:
- Providing lunch
- Providing tea
- Getting donors to pay for some of the needy cases
- Look out for bursaries from the political wings of the administration
- Looking out for friends and well-wishers to assist the school.
STUDENTS EFFORT TO PAY FEES:
- Some students have left school to go and ride bicycles as means of transportation in town famously known as: “BODA BODA”.
- Some parents have come to school to work as Casual Labourers to be able to convert the daily payment into fees.
- Some of the students have worked as Casual Labourers on construction sites where they are paid a daily wage of 2 USD a day to pay fees. This means they have to miss some of the days in school.
- Some of the students have sold themselves off (particularly Girls) to have some money of which they convert up to fees payment.
- Some boys have been “married” off in the slums by ‘Sugar Mummy’s’ in the slums for upkeep. Sometimes they would prefer to go to somebody who will provide at least a meal and shelter and some fee to pay for school.
PARENTS OBLIGATION:
The parents are very supportive in the sense that they:
- Allow Students come to school.
- They try all the best to bring in some money which is earned the hard way but may not even be one over sixteenth of the basic requirements.
- Parents are only required to pay for the following levies.
- Ksh. 2000/= (26USD) to go towards the construction of infrastructure of the school.
- Ksh. 4500/= (58USD) for lunch levies for the whole year.
- Ksh. 500/= (7USD) caution money needed to be in school as security in case of any damage.
A total of Ksh. 7,000/= per parent per student, about (90USD) for the whole year.
SCHOOL LAYOUT:
Status: Government registered under Ministry of Education
Size: ½ acre land
- Boys and girls (mixed school)
- Double streamed
- Total population 266 students
- Teaching staff: 15 teachers
- Non-teaching staff: 5 employees
- Funding for tuition from ministry of education
- Funds for food from parents
- Funds for construction from parents
EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE:
4 Permanent classrooms
2 Temporary classrooms built from iron sheets
1 Laboratory (very new)
1 Temporary kitchen (make shift)
3 Toilets for girls
3 Toilets for boys
2 Toilets for staff
EXPECTED INFRASTRUCTURE:
5 Acre land minimum requirement by the Ministry of Education.
16 Permanent classrooms
3 Laboratories for Sciences
1 Computer laboratory
1 Administration block
1 Kitchen
1 Dining room
1 Library
10 Toilets
Playing grounds for games
Mosque
Putting up the water storage / supply system.
PROJECTED POPULATION:
2007 32 Students
2009 266 students
2010 Projected population 350
URGENT ON THE LIST OF FUNDING:
- Land for expansion
Whereas the Ministry requires the minimum acreage to be 5 acres, the school lies on ½ an acre of land. It was only possible to register it having amalgamated it with the Primary school as one parcel.
The land next to the school has been divided into 30 plots each going for Ksh. 250,000/=, amounting to Ksh. 7, 500,000/=.
CLASSROOMS:
We have 6 existing classes;
2 Temporary
4 Permanent
Minimum required is 10 for basic teaching. However, for effective proper teaching we need 16 classes to cater for block lessons.
Two classes don’t have learning room hence learn from OUTSIDE i.e. if it does not rain.
During bad weather the students are lamped together hence no learning takes place.
DINNING ROOM / KITCHEN:
The school has a temporal kitchen used to prepare food basically.
Students eat outside classes while standing.
LIBRARY:
- The school has NO library.
TOILETS:
- The school has 6 toilets for students however the required No. is 10 for 266 pupils. However for the projection of 350 students the school will need 14 toilets.
ADMINISTRATION BLOCK:
- The administration is based on building donated by the primary school which was formally a Nursery school. We need more rooms for the increasing staff.
MOSQUE:
The school needs a Mosque for students and staff to have their prayers conducted within the school. They have to walk one kilometre away to pray before coming back to take their lunch. This could be incorporated on the classroom block.
WATER:
The school needs its own water system. The water is currently fetched 1 km away by wheelbarrows a factor that affects efficient hygiene. Maintenance on the infrastructure and hire wastage in delivery of services.
CHALLENGE:
All these have been put on the hands of PARENTS who in really sense and from their background in the slum can’t afford even paying for the LUNCHES for their children-leave alone the building levy.
The school has survived on well-wishers, friends and donors.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS POLICY:
The Managing Board has decided that the constructions to be undertaken on the school should be storey building to take care of the land problems.
URGENT ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED:
- Curb the high rate of dropout of students due to non-payment of school fees.
- Provide basic infrastructure inform of classrooms, toilets, kitchen and library.
- Provide water to the school. Students have to walk about 1 km to fetch water. The school only needs some pipes about 25 in number (Ksh.15, 000/=) each 20ft and Ksh. 20,000/= to install power, which will pump water from a nearby borehole which has a pump but it’s not been put in use. A total of Ksh. 35,000/= (465 USD) will give the school water on the compound.
- The school needs land for expansion i.e. there is land next to the school which is up for sale and needs about 5 million Kenya shillings.
PRINCIPAL’S REMARKS:
Priority as a school’s Manager would be:-
- Find out ways of assisting the students who are dropping out.
- Provide water to the school as a basic requirement.
- Other needs could be addressed in stages as funds avail themselves.
It’s a big challenge for me as the Manager of the school in the implementation of the curriculum. I need:-
- Students basic comfort
- Basic infrastructure
I believe friends and well-wishers of Bungoma Secondary can see the dream of educating the children in the slums come true. |
