Pastoralist communities accuse Govt of neglecting region
Leaders from the pastoralist communities have accused the Ministry of Education of neglecting public schools in their region by denying them infrastructure development funds.
Led by Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi, West Pokot Governor Prof John Lunyangapuo, Laikipia North MP Sarah Lekorere and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission Chair Francis Ole Kaparo, the leaders say students from pastoral communities are not at par with their counterparts in other regions due to failure by the Government to deploy funds for infrastructure development in their schools.
Governor Muriithi accused the Ministry of Education of failing to distribute the Ksh 18 billion grant and loan from the World Bank equally yet residents from the marginalized Counties have to pay towards the loans equally.
He faulted the Ministry of investing heavily in improvement of school infrastructure in selected schools in various parts of the country while neglecting other schools in underdeveloped regions.
Ms Lekorere said cases of banditry and cattle rustling among the pastoral communities will continue to rise if the children are denied their right to education.
Ole Kapro said leaders from the region have managed to foster and restore peace among the pastoral communities but there were no schools for the communities to take their children to.
The leaders who spoke at in Kirimon area in Laikipia North during the opening of Naibor Amani Primary School, said that the government must distribute funds equally to help in expansion of infrastructure in underdeveloped schools to ensure that every child acquires education and that the region.
Naibor Amani Primary School stands as a beacon of hope for peace and sanity in the once lawless jungle that over the years has been an arena of cattle rustling and banditry.
Kirimon area has also been known for retrogressive cultural practices like female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriage which have enslaved the community and denied many children their right to basic education.
According to the Laikipia North Member of Parliament the decision to set up the school in the location that has never had a registered primary school was conceived through a partnership between the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) and Loisaba Conservancy.
The leaders expressed optimism that Naibor Amani Primary School will help in minimising cases of cattle rustling and banditry between the Turkana, Samburu, Pokot, Kikuyu and Maasai communities as they interact, courtesy of the institution.