Parliament has faulted the criteria used by the Education ministry to allocate funds after a fact-finding mission to Mwiki Primary School where 70 teachers share two toilets.
The institution, in Ruiru constituency, Kiambu county, has over 3,400 pupils who share 22 toilets. It has inadequate classrooms.
The parliamentary Education committee was disappointed that despite being a deserving institution, the school is poorly funded.
The members are chairman Zadoc Ogutu (Bomachoge Borabu), Erick Njiru (Runyenjes), John Oroo (Bonchari), Eve Obara (Kabondo Kasipul), Catherine Wambilyanga (Bungoma Woman Representative), Jerusha Momanyi (Nyamira Woman Representative) and local MP Simon Ng’ang’a King’ara.
Ogutu said the committee will petition the state through the ministry to decongest the school for conducive learning.
“There are some schools getting funds to the tune of Sh14 million while schools like this, which is among the most overcrowded, is getting meagre funds. We would want to get answers as to why this school is not receiving enough funds to put up the much-needed facilities,” he said.
The committee will recommend that the Education ministry should work with the school management and the community to split it into two.
“Despite the high number of students, the school sits on a half an acre. There’s dire need to decongest this school even if it means getting another parcel and putting up a new school,” the chairman said.
The MPs commended the school management and teachers for its good performance, noting that 20 pupils joined national schools last year.
Ng'ang'a said the National Government Constituency Development Fund has built five classrooms to decongest the institution but the facilities are still inadequate.
“Infrastructure is still a major problem in most schools especially as the government is implementing the 100 per cent transition policy. There’s dire need for resources,” he said.
The MP appealed to the private sector to chip in, saying public-private partnerships in education will help address some of the major challenges the schools faced.
“Private entities, through their corporate social responsibility programmes, can assist schools to put up facilities."
Head teacher Joseph Kamau said the school has registered 688 KCPE candidates this year, up from last year's 647 candidates.