Accept food for fees, Uhuru orders schools in drought hit areas

Residents of Korisa, Ijara Sub-County, Garissa County, draw water for domestic use. Drought has hit the region for some time now. PHOTO | ABDIMALIK ISMAIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered schools in arid and semi-arid areas to start accepting food in lieu of school fees.

Speaking in Samburu on Monday, the President also ordered schools in areas hit hard by a prolonged drought to resume feeding programmes in a bid to keep learners in class.

The effects of the worsening drought, the Nation reports, have begun to be felt across the country, with dozens of rivers drying up.

For instance, in the North Rift and parts of western Kenya, water sources are at risk of drying up due to the persistent drought and massive forest degradation.

According to environmental experts and National Drought Management Authority officials in the region, water volumes in most lakes, dams and reservoirs face a steep decline.

President Kenyatta's order comes about two months after governors from the Frontier Counties Development Council declared the prolonged drought a national disaster.

In Tana River County, over 50,000 residents are staring at death while in the North Rift, livestock prices have dropped drastically and more than 100,000 residents in the region are at risk of starvation.

Mr Kenyatta's order comes as relief for Embu residents, whose children have already started dropping out of school because many had stopped the feeding programme.