A crisis is looming at Miiri Primary School in Gatundu North, Kiambu County after it emerged that the public school has only four teachers left.

While some teachers are understood to have transferred to other institutions, the rest are said to have retired after attaining the mandatory retirement age, putting the education of over 200 learners at the school in jeopardy.

Our tour at the institution yesterday revealed that only two teachers were working at the school, a circumstance that forced them to combine classes.

Grade One, Grade Two and Grade Three had been bundled in one stream, Grade Four and Grade Five in another while junior secondary school learners were studying from one classroom.

Irked by the turn of events, parents at the institution took to the streets protesting against the shortage that, they say, has lowered education standards at the school to alarming levels.

The parents expressed their worry that their children’s education had ground to a halt and they could no longer compete with learners from other institutions.

Led by the school’s PTA chairman Sylvester Muoria, the parents claimed that since last year, the school has witnessed uncharacteristic transfers and retirements without replacement by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

Two absentees

Speaking during the protests, Muoria claimed that they have regularly petitioned TSC to deploy teachers at the institution to no avail, adding that this has taken a toll on learners who have not even sat for tests and other examinations since May last year.

“The school has four teachers but only two of them report to duty. In fact, yesterday there was only one teacher. This is a disservice to us and our children. We have raised the matter with all relevant offices since last year and all we have been getting is promises that are never met,” Muoria said, revealing that they had been told that teachers would be deployed by January 16, 2025, which turned out to be another unfulfilled expectation.

He wondered why Grades 3, 4 and 5 learners were being combined in one class, and how the teacher would manage to teach such a class.

“How will our children cover the syllabus? The government is slowly ruining the future of our children and we won’t let this happen,” he added.

The chairman revealed that they had also unsuccessfully sought intervention from relevant authorities including the area Department of Education and local leadership. He said that the school requires an addition of about five teachers.

He quipped that the most affected learners by the shortage are the Junior Secondary School (JSS) learners saying that they are rarely taught or examined. He said that failure by TSC to deploy enough teachers in the school is ruining the future of innocent children.

Similar sentiments were echoed by parents Lucy Wambui and Elizabeth Mwihaki who claimed that most of them have pulled their children from the school and transferred them to other far-flung institutions within the area.

Far-flung alternatives

“The school had a high population of learners but most parents have since withdrawn their children. We are playing our part as parents but the government, through the Education Ministry and TSC, have failed us. We are worried of our children’s academic excellence as well as their future,” Wambui said.

They noted with concern that learners will undergo untold suffering if they are forced to join other schools including Makohokoho, Gachege, and Kamwirigi primary schools which are over five kilometres away from the village.

The infuriated parents said that they will be forced to withdraw their children from the school and seek education elsewhere should TSC fail to address their plight.

“We won’t allow them to go to school until the government deploys teachers. Their safety while in school is also not guaranteed,” Mwihaki said.

Gatundu North Sub- County TSC Director Albert Ngare, in a phone interview, acknowledged the crisis at the school noting that some of the teachers have been transferred while others went on retirement.

He however allayed fears of education disruption at the school noting that the commission has already conducted interviews and that three teachers will be deployed in the school by March 17, 2025.