Malindi school where 188 pupils share two toilets with teachers

Milimani community primary school in Malindi subcounty of Kilifi county is in a dilapidated state.

The school, which is near the town centre, has only two toilets, lacks enough classrooms and has no desks.

Teachers do not have an office block and are forced to sit under a cashewnut tree that acts as an office.

The teachers also share the two toilets with 188 pupils and to make matters worse, the school has less than 10 desks forcing pupils to sit on the floor.

Journalists visited the school and came face-to-face with the situation of learners studying on the floor.

We also learned that the teachers have challenges in getting paid and at times take home Sh1,000 at the end of the month.

Joseph Kambi Kazungu a retired teacher who acts as the deputy headteacher at the school said teachers and pupils were suffering as there is only one toilet block.

He said teachers are forced to ask those neighbouring the school to allow them use their toilets to avoid sharing with the pupils.

“We have no offices here and as we speak, we are under a tree which is our office, the tree has few leaves which does not give enough shade during sunny days,” he said.

He said the school is run by parents and all the classrooms have no desks.

Kazungu said they have a shortfall of two teachers as there are only five teachers.

“We appeal to donors to help us with desks to enable children sit properly even if its not all but at least 40 desks we will appreciate,” he said, adding that for them to be comfortable they need 100 desks.

He said the pupils have no books and would be happy to get some.

Interestingly, the school has five ECD classrooms built by the county government of Kilifi which are fully furnished but the primary school has no desks and classes are in a bad state.

The deputy headteacher said sometimes children who graduate from the ECD refuse join Grade 1 as they don't want to move from  a fully furnished classroom to sit on the floor.

He said they were lucky to get guests from Karisa Foundation who gave them face masks and 40 pieces of uniforms to help the learners.

“We thank Karisa foundation for the generosity of giving us masks and uniforms but our prayer is that the learners, especially those in upper primary classes, get desks as sitting on the floor is affecting them,” he said.

Kelvin Bernard a Class 6 pupil at the school said their floor is in a bad state and that their roof is dilapidated.

“We have only two toilets and there is no water, we are so many and at times one is forced to wait for a long time for your turn to use the toilet,” he said, adding that he once soiled himself as he waited on queue for his turn to get in.

Karisa Foundation founder Kenneth Karisa who is also eyeing for the Malindi parliamentary seat, said he came across the school as he was going around schools to distribute uniforms and masks and was touched by their plight.

He said the challenges facing the school require urgent intervention because they pose a major health hazard to both the learners and staff.

“The situation is dire, it's like we have no leadership, we must be serious with leadership, that’s why we want to get into leadership not just for the sake of being in power but to transform lives of our people," he said.

Karisa said what he saw is shameful and called on the county government to intervene and support the school.

The school was first built by Devolution CAS Gideon Mung’aro when he was MP for Malindi then Willy Mtengo built two more classrooms when he was elected MP in 2016.

The other buildings were put up by the county government as ECDs and are in a good state but the county did not build a single toilet.

-Edited by SKanyara