Only seven students out of 527 report to Mandongoi School

 Insecurity has forced pupils at the Mandongoi Primary School in Mwingi North sub county in Kitui out of school.

Following the last Friday raid by armed herders for North Eastern region at Kiseuni village of Mandongoi during which a boy's arm was shattered with a bullet, most residents and school going children have fled the area fearing  for their lives.

A visit by journalists to Mandongoi Primary School of Tuesday afternoon revealed a ghostly school that  had been deserted by pupils and teacher. The school gate was also locked and classrooms remained unoccupied.

During the visit the school Headteacher, Joel  Maundu,who arrived at the school after learning about the presence of the journalist, said the insecurity problem had badly paralyzed learning at the school.

"You can imagine that we have a population of 527 pupils and only seven of them came to school today. Again only four teachers came to school today because they too fear for their lives,"  said Maundu.

He added that fewer pupils were in school on Tuesday compared with 20 who had come to school on Monday.  He said another four schools in the neighborhood were also deserted.

Maundu called on the government to restore security and reassure the residents of their safety so that residents could return home and allow their children to go back to school.

"Incidences of banditry attacks have over the years made pupils in our school perform decimally in KCPE.

Due to the current disruption, I feared the standard six pupils would perform poorly in the 2024 KEPSEA examination," the tutor said.

A member of the school board of management, Jeremiah Nyayo, said that children displaced by insecurity were exposed to social issues like immorality, teenage pregnancies and drug abuse.

Kitui County commissioner Kipchumba Rutto who had led the county security team to the area to assess the situation after locals were attacked by the armed herders assured locals of their security.

"I urge the police to ensure sufficient security so that pupils can return to school and continue learning. It is unacceptable for learners to be out of school," Rutto told a security meeting at Mandongoi trading centre."

The County Commissioner assured residents that a security operation would be carried out to root out the armed and problematic herders from North Eastern Kitui county.