Garissa to get 42 classrooms at Sh33 million

The Ministry of Education will spend over Sh33 million to put up 42 classrooms in Garissa.

The project is under the Competency Based Curriculum infrastructure expansion for junior secondary.

County commissioner Boaz Cherutich said phase I of the project will see 26 classrooms constructed at a cost of Sh20 million.

Cherutich spoke during the ground breaking ceremony at the County High School on Friday.

He said 26 secondary schools across the county will benefit from the programme that will run for three months.

The county commissioner urged those who won the contracts to not only deliver the job on time but ensure that they are done to the contract specifications.

Each classroom will cost Sh788,220 and the money will be paid directly into the contractors account on completion.

Cherutich said the blame game between parents and teachers on who should take responsibility for the upsurge in school unrest will not solve the problem.

The county commissioner said both parents and teachers have a role to play in ensuring that discipline is restored in learning institutions.

“This blame game on who is to take responsibility over the burning of schools should stop. Parents should take their parental roles when schools are closed and likewise for teachers when schools are opened,” Cherutich said.

“It’s time we all come together as stakeholders and address this problem that is threatening to disrupt learning in our schools. If we fail to contain it now, we should be ready to face these children when they drop out of school and turn into criminals in our midst,” he added.

Cherutich said the stakeholders meeting slated for January next year will bring together elected leaders, school management boards, head teachers and parents.

The meeting, he says, will not only seek to find the root cause of indiscipline in the school but come up with ways and means of addressing them.

“The government is investing huge amounts of funds in the education sector by expanding the infrastructure. It will be regrettable if the same is set ablaze by rowdy students who don’t value such efforts and the sacrifices by their parents in bettering their lives,” he said.

The county commissioner also urged parents to pay fees on time to ensure the smooth running of learning institutions adding that some institutions have accrued huge bills.

He said in County High School parents owe the institution Sh56 million in outstanding fees over the past 10 years.

(Edited by Bilha Makokha)