State releases Sh100m to relocate Mama Ngina School

Acting Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i greets students of Mama Ngina Girls High School in Mombasa on January 17, 2018. He said the government has released Sh100 million to relocate the school. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to lay a foundation at the new site where the new school will be built.

  • Dr Matiang’i said the President has heeded to the calls by the Coast leaders.

  • Dr Matiang’i also gave 20 computers to the school under the computer for schools programme.

The government has released Sh100 million for the relocation of Mombasa’s Mama Ngina Girls High School to a 10-acre land in Shimo La Tewa in Shanzu.

The prestigious national school which was established in 1988 as a public double streamed boarding school is currently located on a less than an acre piece of land at Kizingo in Mombasa Town. It also lacks a playground.

Acting Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said by January 2019, the school will be relocated to Shanzu and will also accommodate day scholars.

Currently the school is purely boarding.

“We have found a site within Mombasa where we will relocate this school. It is bigger. We will immediately begin construction so that by January of 2019 we start moving some of the things,” Dr Mtiang’i said.

UHURU VISIT

In the next one month, President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to lay a foundation at the new site where the new school will be built.

“I was sent here by the President because several times he has been at the Coast, leaders from this region have been approaching him on the possibilities of expanding this school. The leaders have also been urging the government to provide more resources for girls’ education in Coast region,” Dr Matiang’i explained. 

He said the President has heeded to the calls by the Coast leaders.

The CS said the government will build a large school to accommodate more girls.

The government will also work closely with Coast leaders to uplift the region’s education standards.

MATIANG'I'S ADVICE

“Be confident and focused in your studies. God has provided for you and we have enough resources for your success. We will provide you with an enabling environment. There are no two ways about succeeding; it’s only through honesty and hard work. Don’t lie, engage in crime or fraud,” Dr Matiang’i advised the students.

Dr Matiang’i also gave 20 computers to the school under the computer for schools programme.

The CS will meet Coast leaders to discuss about education standards, particularly focusing on girls.

TEENAGE PREGNANCIES

According to non-governmental organisations and scholars at the Coast, girls are disadvantaged due to negative cultural practices. 

The region is also burdened by teenage pregnancies.

According to United Nations Population Fund, counties with the highest burden of teenage pregnancies and motherhood in the region include Tana River and Kwale.

"Touts, boda boda operators, disco matanga and child marriages are causes of the pregnancies. Law enforcers and religious leaders should empower communities to deal with cultural child marriages in the marginalised counties in Coast region," said the UNFPA programme officer Kigen Korir.