Kewota Chief Executive Officer Benta Opande has called on the government to shelf the move to ban boarding primary schools in the country.
Speaking yesterday at the KEPSHA Annual conference that was held in Mombasa at Sheik Zayed Centre, KEWOTA CEO invoked the Biblical verse in Isaiah 1:18 that says come and let’s reason together as she persuaded the government to reconsider its position on abolishment.
KEWOTA Boss Benta Opande Addressing Primary Teachers Conference in Mombasa PHOTO|DANMUHUNI
Applying logic to the argument and moral appeal, the CEO posited that boarding schools serve more than intended. For example in Kuria, hundreds of girls run to boarding schools as rescue centres. “If you abolish boarding schools, where will such girls go?” she wondered.
“Boarding schools provide exposure and enhance national cohesion and integration. If you go to Nyang’oma Primary, Nyang’oma Secondary and proceed to Bondo University and ultimately get a job in Siaya, what kind of a human being will you be? How accommodating will you be?” she wondered.
KEWOTA Boss Receiving Awards In Mombasa PHOTO DANMUHUNI
Speaking to the press at Sheik Zayed in Mombasa, Opande added that in a country where jobs are hard to come by, the government can only create a conducive environment for its citizens to thrive.
“Let those who want to go boarding go whether in ASAL areas, just like those who have opted for IGCE be allowed to do so. Some of these schools act as homes for homeless learners and should not be scrapped,” she said.
“I went to boarding school myself and I think I have turned out better than better because I was able to interact with a diverse group,” she added. She emphasised that the President has been at the forefront and a champion of national integration and there are no better places than boarding schools. “If funding is the problem, then we can see ways to increase funding to make boarding schools better,” she added.
The CEO also took the opportunity to bond with KEWOTA members from the Coast Region who were also at the event.
