Pupils in West Pokot study in grass-thatched hut

Pupils of a school in West Pokot County have been forced to study in shifts in a grass-thatched hut made of mud after staying decades without a school.

Chemusar Primary School also suffers from a shortage of teachers and teaching resources such as blackboards and chalks.

Parents of the school are now appealing to well-wishers and the government to help them set up stable and conducive structures.

According a teacher at the school, the pupils who are more than 100 have to study in two hour shifts due to lack enough classrooms and teachers.

“I have to combine nursery school and Standard one pupils for two hours before releasing them to play so that I can teach Standard two and three pupils,” Fridah Lokapel who is a volunteer teacher in the school said.

Lokapel added that they are forced to borrow learning materials  from neighboring schools which are 15 kilometers away.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, chairman of the school, Joseph Kapel, said it was opened in 2006 when the village had over 350 children who were not going to school.

“We decided to set up this grass thatched classroom in the year 2006 since children below 10 years were not attending school. The nearest school is over 15 kilometers away,” he said.

Kapel added that he was forced to employ school dropouts from the neighboring villages to teach the pupils.

Residents in the area said they feel neglected by national and county governments since no assistance or services have ever been offered to them.

“We feel neglected since 53 years after independence we still don’t have a school or road at this place,” one of the parents lamented.

She asked all leaders from the county to unite and see to it that the school has the necessary facilities to help alleviate illiteracy levels in the county.

By Collins Shitiabai