Muranga Road Primary School Closed As Takeover Squabbles Between BOM And Ministry Continue.
On Monday morning, squabbles rocked the takeover of Muranga Road Primary School.
The school’s Board of Management, led by chairman Zachariah Mafunga, has been opposed to the ministry of education’s proposed handover.
Students were turned back on Monday morning after the institution was closed indefinitely. Since then, some parents have contested the closure.
According to Mafunga, the plan has been tested since 2020.
“They first started by re-deploying all the teachers to other schools. The school has not even been having a headteacher,” Mafunga said.
As a result, the BOM hired teachers who would then continue to teach.
However, the number of students has steadily decreased over time. The school currently has a student population of 200.
According to parents, the administration gave them the option of enrolling their children at Moi Avenue Primary School, Arya Primary School, or River Banks Primary School.
Some students have already been accepted into River Banks Primary School.
According to The Star, the institution will be completely converted into a county girl secondary school that will also house a junior secondary school later next year.
Several parents have claimed that the relocation is part of a land-grab scheme. They requested the intervention of Starehe MP Charles Njagua and sub-County director Julia Kominga.
Njagua, on his part, refuted the claims, claiming that the closure is intended to transfer students to other schools adding that no one is attempting to seize the land.
The MP explained that the school had fewer than 100 students and that the ministry had plans to integrate them into a nearby school.
He explained that because of the 100% transition, the nearby high school has a large population, and the ministry wanted the students to occupy the primary school to decongest the school.
The MP went on to say that public participation was held, and that not all parents agreed with the idea. Some parents are concerned that their children will miss out on admission to other schools.
Others claim they cannot afford to purchase new school supplies.
The County Education Board met with parents, teachers, and the Board of Management in 2020 to hold a sensitization forum about the need to close the school.
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The Education Board argued that it did not make economic sense to run a school with a population of 200 students with the same resources as a school with a population of 1,000 or more students.
It hoped that the available funds would be redirected toward the expansion of a county girls secondary school.
Pupils return to school to collect their belongings after the school was closed indefinitely on January 17, 2021.
Muranga Road Primary School Closed As Takeover Squabbles Between BOM And Ministry Continue
