Schools to get clean water and more teachers, Matiang'i says

The Ministry of Education has said it will connect all primary schools to clean piped water as a way of improving the learning environment.

Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said his ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation on the project.

He observed that pupils in some parts of the country were spending class time in search of water.

“We want to bring an end to a situation where pupils have to leave class to look for water. We also want to ensure that we supply clean water to avoid health and sanitation issues that are brought about by drinking contaminated water,” he said.

The project, officially titled Water for Schools and will be aided by the Israeli government, will run parallel with the electricity for schools programme under which all primary schools will get connected to electricity.

The minister was speaking during the 88th graduation of Kamwenja Teachers College in Nyeri where 442 teachers were conferred with P1 certificates.

Dr Matiang'i, in addition to announcing plans to hire 5,000 teachers this financial year, said the ministry is determined to reduce class sizes to promote better learning.

The ministry's 2014 Basic Education Statistical Booklet indicates that the pupil-teacher ratio for public schools based on TSC teachers stands at 41:5, which compares well with the international norm of 40.

“The boards of management are likely to hire an additional 2,000 teachers, so we are hoping that the number will go up to 8,000 teachers. We are working to enhance hours of interaction between teachers and learners,” he said.