February the second month of our first trimester finds already four weeks in school activities both in learning and curricular. Students have settled on the excitement of being in the New Year and new grade (class), new text books and some of them new teachers for some courses. There are also new students in various grades who are new to the other students, to teachers and other school workers and to the environment that has different rules for them that what they had been used to in the schools they came from to join Father Ntaiyia Jubilee School. This brings in many stories to be orally shared and joy to be expressed by those who have wanted to come to our school and have at last got a chance. However, teaching and learning calls for seriousness of being away from home.
TEACHING STAFF:
Father Ntaiyia Jubilee School experienced a big change as three more teachers had to leave the School since my last blog. As I have mentioned in the past most of the teachers we employed are trained hopeful of being employed by the government that gives better salary than private school can give as well as other allowances. For these reasons Father Ntaiyia is always clear that if a teacher or any other staff member gets a better paying job they are free to go. We had a setback though because our former deputy who had steered the school well for two trimesters in 2016 had to leave as well. Father Ntaiyia had expected him to be a great help to the new leadership in the school because of his experience.
Following the departure of these teachers we were able in consultation with Father Ntaiyia to recruit new teachers who came in time to continue with the teaching and learning of children without delay.
Besides students’ class work in the School that must be primary, the administration has to work on the 2017 (public examination) registration during this trimester. There are also extracurricular activities that include drama and ball games. According to the circular from the ministry of education, registration of examination candidates is to be done on- line. This process involved the candidates having to select their preferred secondary (High) verifying the details in their birth certificate and uploading the entries in the required website. The final report on registration has to be printed and signed by the candidates for the confirmation of the registration data. Candidates had to have their registration details confirmed by the end of February. We are glad to report that this exercise ended successfully under our new Head teacher and we are happy and thankful to Kenya government that has for the first time, decided to pay for all the examination fees required for every candidate in both public and private schools. The examination fees had for many years been paid by the parents, in both public and private schools.
VISITING DAY:
For readers who are familiar with your past report, this is once a trimester day when the school hosts parents to visit their children in school. The parents are allowed to bring food to share with their children as well as bring those supplies such as pens, copy books, soaps and other items that may be needed for a few weeks before this trimester ends. This is a busy day for students and staff as well. It is always picked to be on a Saturday in the second month of the trimester. If weather allows all students expect to be visited by at least a family member in case parents cannot make it. It is a day that is never less exciting for older students and young but it is always more thrilling for the new students and parents who are visiting for the first time, also parents who have never had their child away from home before. They enter the gate with their eyes looking all over and one cannot fail to notice the joy of them meeting their child. At times it gets emotional with mothers, those tears of love.
A week before visiting day the students take their midterm examinations which provides an opportunity for parents to meet with the class teacher and share on the progress of their child. Visiting day also gives our new staff members who are working among the Maasai people for the first time by coming to Father Ntaiyia School, a chance to meet them as they visit their children
KENYA: DROUGHT 2017
On 10 February the Government declared a national drought emergency, with 23 of 47 counties affected. The number of food insecure people more than doubled – from 1.3 million to 2.7 million. Some 357,285 children and pregnant and lactating mothers are acutely malnourished. Maize and beans (that form of staple food ) production in many areas is reported to have decreased by 99 per cent in some areas compared to the long term average. People have to travel three times longer than normal to access water. Pastoralist (nomadic) communities’ counties are losing their livestock. Data collected by UNICEF from 10 affected counties indicates that close to 175,000 children are not attending early pre-primary (elementary) and primary schools, primarily due to the drought’s impact. It is being reported that The World Food Program and the Government of Kenya continue to provide schools meals across the arid and semi-arid areas and in the poor informal settlements the Capital of Kenya and hard-to-reach areas, feeding about one and a half million. School meals protect vulnerable children from hunger and offer a regular source of nutrients essential for the mental and physical development of young children. A full stomach gives children an opportunity to focus on learning at school.
A daily school meal provides a strong incentive for families to send their children to school and keep them there.
NOTATION:
While public schools may benefit from such feeding programs, private schools like Father Ntaiyia Jubilee School do not get any help from the government even in such critical times because we charge school fees and for that reason we are expected to meet all our financial undertakings including salaries for teachers and workers.
In our normal situation the School buys staple food directly from the local farmers, but the problem we have now is that because of the drought the farmer’s crops have failed. Parents who depend on agriculture, therefore, have nothing to sell and animals are either dying for lack of grass and water or are too skinny to sell. This makes the available staple food in the markets expensive when many parents are not able to pay for school fees.
The record I have from School indicates that there are many parents who have not completed paying their last year’s fees which means the expected fees for this trimester have not been paid. At times we may want to send children home for fees collection but in such a situation of drought I advise that they remain in school because in some homes families might have no food. Rains are being reported but this does not mean there will be any change in the next 3 to 6 months.
FRIENDS OF FATHER NTAIYIA JUBILEE SCHOOL CHARITY
We have had our first meeting this year and felt we need another one soon to look into our development for last year and plan for what we need to do this year in the School. We are pleased to announce the realization of the rain water project after the rains came and the new tanks got a lot of clean water for children and staff in the school.
Kenya is hoping to change the system of Education and this has been talked about for some years but of late there has been a lot of discussion on it. Such a change may involve financial undertaking in a number of things such as text books and other learning materials, in-service courses/training for teachers, use of computers and other technologies. Kenya government has recently extended power to many remote places targeting the schools. I have shared with our BOD on these things so that when the time comes we shall be ready to fund some of these things with funds from our friends and well-wishers.
With loads of Thank You to Friends of Father Ntaiyia Jubilee School from the families that have Children in this school.
Fr. Symon Peter Ntaiyia