In Kenya, there are just schools and group of schools. The former is your ordinary public and private school while ‘group of schools’ is the high-end private institution with posh buildings and an elitist culture.
In Kisumu Central, a public secondary school is emerging that, if well finished and managed, could join the top league of learning institutions in Kenya. Through the National Government Constituency Development Fund, area MP Fred Ouda is constructing the Ksh100 million secondary school in Manyatta slum.
Mr Ouda says the school, Kosawo Mixed Secondary, is a three-storey building consisting of 12 classrooms. The school is being constructed on an acre of land in Kondele ward. It will need more land to accommodate mores structures and extra-curriculum activities, but it is a great beginning.
Kosawo Mixed Secondary is expected to change the face of Manyatta slum, a sprawling peri-urban estate on the outskirts of Kisumu City. Its residents earn relatively low incomes, yet they generally pay more for basic services such as water and public transit. Residents often have no access to piped water, even though Kisumu sits on the shores of one of the world’s largest bodies of fresh water.
Manyatta is located on the eastern outskirts of Kisumu, Kenya’s third-largest city. It is located in what might be called colloquially as the Kisumu’s “slum belt,” a group of informal settlements that have grown for decades skirting around the center and suburbs of Kisumu since Kenya achieved Independence. The other more well-known slums in Kisumu include Kondele, Nyawita, Obunga, and Nyalenda.
Residents of Manyatta range from low-income to the unemployed, with a few scattered mid-income earners also living in the slum. The area seems to have a well-connected transportation system for commuting to employment or school, but, for the most part, the majority of the Manyatta residents have an uncertain tenure.
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Crime is more prevalent than in the more established areas of Kisumu. There is no sewer or sanitation service. The presence of a high profile institution promises much for the residents here including improved roads, water and sewerage system as well as security.
The battle in education is longer just about grades these days; it is boiling down to the constructions, ambiance and facilities available. The flagship project in Kisumu’s Manyatta slum, which was started early this year is currently 50 per cent constructed and expected to be complete in 2023. Upon completion, Mr Ouda says the school will have a modern library, chemistry, physics and biology laboratories.
“It will also have a spacious staff room, principal office and two deputy offices as well as modern kitchen,” the MP is reported by The Star as saying.
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Mr Ouda said that the school will also be equipped with a modern 40-door ablution block for students, staff and teachers. “We are looking forward to completing the ground floor by end of this year to pave the way for next year’s first intake,” he said.
The school is expected to serve the huge population of pupils from the Manyatta slums and its environs.
Mr Ouda said that his administration is committed to improving infrastructure in schools to boost academic performance and wellbeing of pupils and students in schools across the constituency. “I have managed to improve educational infrastructure in the constituency and promise to do more,” he said.
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