Students of Wamalwa Kijana secondary who were protesting over the stalled school laboratory. Photo I Saka Richard

Students of Wamalwa Kijana secondary school went to the streets to protest the high handedness of their head teacher, Mr. Cleophas Ngeiywa claiming that he was dictatorial on his leadership style and that he had squandered Sh4.5 million meant for the construction of a modern laboratory unit.

The students who spoke to west FM, requested to remain anonymous due to their security cited that the construction of the unit which started long last year has since stalled. The angry students sympathized with the form four students who said they were in need of doing practical as they had never attended any since form one.

“We wonder what we are going to write in our science papers as we do not have any idea of how a practical paper is done, just help us if you can because our future is at stake,” noted one fourth form student.

The school head teacher noted that many of the local schools around had no labs and were doing fine and did not see any problem with his students lacking one calling the claims by the students as malice.

“What is the use of a lab when we can use SMASE fund to teach our students, lab or no lab the students can learn and pass any science paper,” said the head teacher.

The stalled Sh 4.5 million laboratory.

About the Sh. 4.5 million he admitted that it had been collected during the fundraising early last year and was channeled towards the project and said that the building was in progress citing that the contractor Mr. Michael Thuku was busy with other projects. The same contractor is also contracted by St. Brigit’s girls’, St. Joseph’s girls’ and Makunga school while on observation any one could see that the building had stalled.

On phone interview with west FM, the contractor Mr. Thuku refuted the head’s claim that he was slowing the job citing that the head teacher did not avail building materials and the last time any construction had been undertaken was on March and since then he had not received any formal communication from the head.

He went further and clarified that the school owes him Sh. 380000 since he laid the buildings foundation and he was thinking of terminating his contract with the school.

Mr. Thuku said he couldn’t hire anymore masons as he did not see the essence as the school had failed to carter for the few available.

The school parents conquered with the students citing that the head teacher was rude to them and his junior staff.

They angry parents said that the head hired and fired teachers on weekly basis and this revealed itself when the few teachers who volunteered to speak to parents were called by the deputy head teacher and insulted in front of the parents.