Taita Taveta public school with 39 pupils faces closure

Mwambolembole Primary School in Taita Taveta County risks closure due to lack of learners.

The school located in Mbololo ward, Voi Constituency has only 39 pupils as the Third Term begins. A visit to the school on Wednesday painted a picture of loud silence, almost zero activity.

The institution needs several more pupils to survive and stay open.

“The number of learners in this school have been reducing as the years progress. For instance right now I only have  three pupils,” said Esther Makumbo, a teacher at the school.

Class 8 has the majority, 9 candidates, who soon will be leaving the school at the end of this year.

There are only 3 learners in Class 7, six in Class 6, four in Class 5 and three learners in Class 4.

According to the school headteacher John Mwadime, over 50 per cent of learners have left the school in the last five years, some having dropped out while others transferred.

He attributes the massive exodus from the school to lack of government funding, poor infrastructure and poor performance by the school. In last year’s KCPE exams, the school had a mean grade of 199 marks.

Like other schools in the region, school going children fall into drug abuse, early marriages and early pregnancies.

For now, the school has to contend with the increasing likelihood of a shut down due to its low operational numbers.