Despite being President William Ruto’s native constituency, Turbo is still struggling with underdevelopment, as evidenced by the state of classrooms and other educational infrastructure. President William Ruto’s aide put Turbo MP Janet Sitienei on the spot over the sorry state of learning institutions in the constituency. Ruto’s aide, Farouk Kibet, put the area MP, Janet Sitienei, on the spot for failing to prioritise resources in upgrading the schools despite being allocated monies in the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) kitty. Why Farouk Kibet is angry at Turbo MP Farouk visited the Kosachei Adventist Primary School, whose classrooms are muddy and have earthen floors.
“I am not happy with how this school is looking like in this century. We must agree that this kind of life is not good. We are putting the future of our children at risk if we are going to allow them to learn in such environments. The school floor is earthen, and the place is so cold, we are endangering the lives of our children,” Farouk said. He blasted the MP for serving her needs at the expense of service to the Turbo constituents. “As a leader, you have the responsibility to help your people. The problem is that when people are elected, they become superior, and the people who elected them become secondary. The challenges facing our people should be solved,” Farouk stated. He argued that such an environment put children at a disadvantage compared to those in better environments. The president’s aide noted that such inequity makes it hard for the learners to be competitive.
“We want our children to soar higher in education. But they are not going to compete with others from better schools and environments,” he said. What challenges does Kosachei Adventist Primary School have? The rainy season is always a nightmare for learners at the school. According to the headteacher, Methusellar Bett, rainwater overflows into the classrooms, and the pupils are often required to report very early to drain the water first before starting their day’s lessons. The situation is never better, regardless. They are forced to study in muddy and wet classrooms. “We have so many challenges, especially during the rainy season. Rainwater gets to the classrooms. Pupils have to report very early to drain the water inside their classrooms,” said Methusellah. The school administration revealed that since its establishment in 2018, its efforts to seek help from the area MP have never borne fruit. They have been forced to make do with the poor infrastructure to date.
“We have never received any assistance since 2018, when the school was registered. We have been going to offices, including that of our MP, seeking help, but to no avail. Our children are in very pathetic structures. This is the only school in the sub-county and is in the president’s village, yet it is muddy,” said Wislon Sambai, the school committee’s chairman. Farouk donated KSh 5 million to upgrade the infrastructure in the school.
By Kai Eli