Signboards in wilderness, gates in bushes, but where are the schools?
Kenneth Kemboi Murwes, a resident of Kaptiony village in Baringo North Constituency, walks through the gate of the non-existent Kaptiony Girls High School on April 24.
The signboard that sits on a grazing field overgrown with shrubs was erected over a year ago. Next to it are more than seven acres fenced off and fitted with a well-labelled gate, ostensibly for the school.
It is one of several signboards that have been put up in parts of Baringo North, all without actual school structures.
Deep in Kaptiony village in Barwessa Ward, Baringo North Sub-County, is a huge signboard with black letters on a yellow background proudly announcing the presence of Kaptiony Girls High School.
For good measure, it bears the Ministry of Education logo complete with the Coat of Arms, a postal address, and a school motto — “Sacrifice to Excel”.
Interestingly, the actual school does not exist anywhere, not even on paper, and there is no single structure built for it. There are no students. And no, it’s not because of banditry, which is rampant in the region.
The signboard that sits on a grazing field overgrown with shrubs was erected over a year ago. Next to it are more than seven acres fenced off and fitted with a well-labelled gate, ostensibly for the school.
Denied knowledge
It is one of several signboards that have been put up in parts of Baringo North, all without actual school structures.
According to locals, Kaptiony Girls High has a board of management and a bank account with several signatories.
The Nation could not independently verify this, while the Ministry of Education denied knowledge of such schools.
“There was a time when former Senator Gideon Moi contributed more than Sh1 million for the school. We do not know where the money went to,” claimed a local.
Many kilometres away in Kasaka, Baringo North Constituency, is a signboard for Kasaka Secondary School, next to the Kasaka Primary School gate.
Mr Jeremiah Tarus (centre), acting head teacher of Kasaka Primary School in Baringo North Constituency, and other locals show a signboard for Kasaka Mixed Day Secondary School that they recovered from a valley in the area on 24 April 2024.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
Locals erected it in January this year. The Nation understands that this was after they unanimously proposed the project.
Area MP Joseph Makilap had promised to fund the school’s construction.
Mr Charles Chelimo, a village elder who sold a portion of his land to fund the project, said the move was welcome because the only other school in the locality was Kasaka Primary, which was built in 1965.
But weeks after the agreement, a section of residents opposed the idea, claiming that the land earmarked for the construction was inadequate. They suggested that the proposed institution be moved to Barwessa in Kerio Valley. Others, however, got agitated and went ahead to erect the signboard, Mr Chelimo explained.
“The move would birth animosity in the area. Villagers woke up on January 8 to find the signboard uprooted and carted away by vandals,” he said.
Kasaka Primary School deputy headteacher Jeremiah Tarus claimed the primary school committee and stakeholders had not sat to deliberate on the project and its location.
“What I know is that there is no proposed site for the project because locals have not sat and agreed on a particular place. A few people came up with the plan of erecting the signboard and only they know why,” he said.
About 10 kilometres away in Kampi Nyasi, Kerio Valley, is a signboard for a non-existent Kampi Nyasi Secondary School.
While the project was proposed and close to five acres set aside for it by the local community, it has not kicked off.
“We sat down as a community and each one of us proposed to contribute some money to buy construction materials. I pledged to donate a goat,” said Ms Pauline Kiptoon, a local.
A signboard for Kampi Nyasi Secondary School in Baringo North Constituency, Baringo County on April 24, 2024.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
Another resident, Mr Symon Tarus, said he has been looking forward to the construction of the school so that his children can learn there.
“The site is still a bush,” Mr Tarus lamented. Reached for comment, County Director of Education Masibo Kituyi said he was not aware of the existence of such signboards, noting that there are no such schools registered with the ministry.
“Maybe they are proposed projects,” Mr Kituyi told Nation.
Mr Makilap has since released a press statement explaining that the proposed projects are targeted for construction soon.
“On the issue of Kaptiony Girls High School, I can confirm that, together with the local community, we proposed the construction of the school to boost access to education for our children. The money to build the school shall be drawn from the Equalization Fund. My office has not allocated any budget for the project,” the MP stated.
He defended the erection of the signboards and gates, saying, it is necessary to demarcate the land. According to the MP, Kasika and Kampi Nyasi secondary schools are upcoming projects financed by the National Government Constituency Development Fund and shall be actualised in the 2023-2024 financial year.
