Hunt for missing learners continue even as flooded schools lack toilets
By Christopher Owuor, January 12, 2021
Noven Owiti and Henry Andanje
At least 8,000 learners in Nyando sub-county, Kisumu are yet to report to school.
Out of 45,379 pupils in primary, only 40,379 have resumed so far while in secondary schools, only 12,326 students have resumed learning out of 16,162 learners.
Area Deputy County Commissioner Julius Kavita said a crackdown to trace missing learners was ongoing.
Kavita, however, noted that from their findings, other students are believed to have joined institutions elsewhere.
He said chiefs and their assistants are combing villages to trace the students who have not reported to school in line with the government directive.
“Our crackdown is firmly on course to find the whereabouts of the missing learners and take them back to school,” Kavita said yesterday.
Elsewhere, reopening of schools in Nyando in Kisumu was last week marked by challenges occasioned by the recent effects of floods and backflow from Lake Victoria, which left at least six schools hard hit.
Consequently, a number of students were relocated in temporary measures after their schools were marooned by floods and rendered uninhabitable.
Some affected schools established makeshift structures for learning to take off.
Meanwhile, in Rangwe constituency about 20 per cent of learners are yet to return to school.
Deputy County Commissioner Thomas Nyoro said so far, 96 per cent of primary and 84 per cent of secondary school learners have gone back to class.
Nyoro stated that his office was taking data on students who had not reported to school.
“We will take firm action against parents who fail to take their children to school,” he said.
Budalang’i Constituency in Busia County, a majority of public primary and secondary schools that were affected by floods last year do not proper infrastructure.
It has been established that most of the schools which were submerged do not have toilets after they were destroyed by the floods.