Thika,

Monday, April 3, 2023

K.N.A

by Hellen Lunalo

Thika High School will benefit from the construction of state-of-the-art laboratories through funds allocated by the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NGCDF).

Thika High School Chief Principal Mr Julius Murage said there had been tremendous growth in the school’s population as a result of the 100 Per cent transition to secondary school policy introduced by the government.

Murage was speaking at a prize giving function held at the school where the parents, teachers and stakeholders met to celebrate the school’s performance in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.

“The school has been in existence for 66 years and in the last five years, 1425 candidates have been presented to sit for the KCSE examinations, of which 1050 have transitioned to university. In 2022, 409 candidates sat for the exam and 291 out of these students have transitioned to university. In 2023 we have registered 450 candidates and we are hoping for 100 per cent transition to university and other tertiary institutions such as colleges and TVETs,” Murage said.

“As a result of the exemplary results produced by the school, a huge number of students transitioning from primary schools have joined us and we have therefore seen the need to increase the school’s infrastructure as we currently have eight streams of classes. We want to make sure that all the students have a conducive environment for their studies,” said Murage.

With the current focus on Science Technical Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, the school will receive funding for new laboratories to make sure the students get the opportunity to study science, technology and mathematics.

“The budget for education is currently the highest in Kenya and the government has allocated enough resources for the CBC programme, especially for the Junior Secondary School (JSS) learners. All schools will be supported with funds to increase infrastructure and we will borrow a leaf from the previous CDF which has very good structures in terms of school funding,” said Mr Ndindi Nyoro, the chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee in the National Assembly who was also in attendance.

“Infrastructure grants will be given as quotational grants through the NGCDF to make sure that the teachers and school board are not overwhelmed by the intricacies of construction, we want their full focus to be on the welfare of the students and their education,” said Nyoro.

The construction of the new laboratories is in line with the government’s pledge to fund education in the country as a means of ensuring an equitable society and to improve the capacity of secondary schools as a means of guaranteeing access to low-cost quality education for all children.

Courtesy; K.N.A