Learning Halted In A Kenyan School After Parents Took Away Their Children

Milimani Primary School in Gilgil, 106km from Kenya’s capital Nairobi risks being shut down after parents withdrew their children, citing poor performance.

The angry parents stormed the school on Monday, removed their children from classrooms, close all the offices before holding peaceful demonstrations outside the institution.

They blamed the school’s administration for the drop in performance. The parents alleged some teachers are reporting to school while drunk while others arrive late.

They further lamented the deterioration of facilities in the school, including the lack of desks.

“We are concerned that mud structures may collapse on our children during the current rainy season. Learners sit on the floor due to the absence of desks while elements of weather torment our children due to gaping walls and leaking roofs,” said one parent.

However, the school’s headteacher John Wambugu rubbished the claims that some teachers report to work while drunk, accusing the parent of a lack of commitment to their parental obligations, making teachers’ jobs difficult.

Mr. Wambugu claimed that the parents who stormed the school are eyeing slots on the school’s management board.

He promised to hold a meeting with teachers to solve the impasse so that learning can resume.

Schools in Kenya were reopened on Monday, July 26, after a one-week break.

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