School turned into shopping centre over absence of teachers

Conflict and insecurity has been a worrying factor within Baringo County and has led to the disruption of day-to-day lives of residents. It has gotten so bad that young children have been deprived of their education.

Such is the fate of students from Ng’oron Primary School in Tirioko Ward, Tiaty Constituency, which has been turned into a trading centre due to the lack of teachers.

Area Chief, Sadam Kalale, narrated the educational journey of the region, stating how they began gathering children from different communities and getting volunteer teachers to teach them. The only volunteer teachers they could get were children who were fortunate enough to have made it to standard five and six.

Everything seemed to be working out well until conflict between the Pokot and Turkana people put a startling halt to the educational endeavors of the Pokot people. As a result of the conflict, cases of insecurity arose thus instilling fear in the community and causing the teachers to flee from the region, leaving the school abandoned.

Due to the lack of teachers and watchmen to take care of the solar panels that were installed in the school, the traders that had been operating their businesses under the trees decided to kill two birds with one stone and take care of the solar panels while utilizing the facilities.

“Education is a right to all children in Kenya,” Caleb Dike, a local said, who appealed to the government to send at least one or two teachers to the area.

As business takes off within the school grounds, the young children have been left with no other choice but to herd livestock, with the community members hoping that their education sector will be restored.

Written by Velma Barasa