By OLIVER MUSEMBI
Ruiru Girls High School in Kiambu County is grappling with severe congestion, with some dormitories accommodating twice the number of students they were designed to hold.
Principal Sophie Waithera said one of the school’s dormitories accommodates more than 100 learners against the recommended capacity of 50, creating logistical and safety challenges.
“Our school has maintained the top position in Ruiru Sub-County in national examinations since 2016, but despite this, we have challenges of congestion. For instance, the Longonot dormitory, which was condemned for renovation, housed 101 students instead of 50,” Waithera said.
The principal spoke when Ruiru MP Simon King’ara inspected the ongoing renovation of the dormitory, which had been condemned because of safety concerns.
The project is being undertaken through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
Waithera said the school, which is the only public institution offering boarding facilities in the sub-county, has 450 girls accommodated in its four hostels.
The school has a total enrolment of 916 students, with the remainder attending as day scholars.
The principal also addressed incidents of student unrest witnessed at the beginning of the second term, urging parents to take an active role in guiding their children on discipline and the need to protect school property.
“It is high time parents started talking to their children about discipline issues and the need to safeguard school facilities. Some of the parents in this school were also students here. If they had destroyed it, perhaps their children would not be here,” Waithera said.
She added that the school had taken measures to enhance safety and prepare for emergencies, including installing hose-reel pipes, fire extinguishers and buckets of sand to help contain possible fire outbreaks.
King’ara said the constituency office had committed funds towards the expansion of schools to cope with the growing student population, which he attributed partly to the construction of more than 1,000 affordable housing units in the area.
Besides the ongoing expansion at Ruiru Girls, the MP said at least five new schools had been constructed by the national government to accommodate the rising number of learners.
He stressed the importance of parents working with teachers to instil discipline among students, saying this would help protect school property and, more importantly, safeguard learners’ lives.
King’ara also said he would steer clear of politics and concentrate on development, arguing that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had not yet given the go-ahead for campaigns.
“Until IEBC gives the go-ahead for campaigns, I have no business playing politics for now. I will only be serving the people who elected me,” King’ara said.
Ruiru is estimated to have a population of about one million people, making it one of the most populous constituencies in the country.
King’ara has previously called for increased allocation of resources to the constituency, or its division into at least three constituencies, to enhance representation and ensure equitable distribution of development resources.
