More than 150 pupils at Oron Primary School in Alale Location, Kacheliba Constituency, West Pokot County, have been left without classrooms after a powerful windstorm blew off the roofs of their classrooms.
The incident occurred during lunchtime, sparing the pupils from possible injuries. By good fortune, no one was hurt during the incident.
Headteacher Janet Chematui said the destroyed classrooms had been partitioned to accommodate five classes—Grade Two, Three, Four, Five and Six—leaving learners with no space to continue with lessons.
“We are thankful to God that the incident happened when the pupils were on lunch break. Otherwise, the situation could have been very tragic,” said Ms Chematui.
She added that learning has been completely disrupted, forcing the school to send pupils home.
“Over 150 learners are now stranded because they have no classrooms. Today, none of them reported to school because there is no roof over their heads. The sun is too hot for them to learn outside,” she said.
The headteacher appealed to the government, well-wishers, and education stakeholders to urgently intervene and help rebuild the damaged classrooms.
“This is a young school in a hardship area. We are appealing for immediate support to restore a safe and conducive learning environment for our children,” she said.
Teacher Girale Simon echoed the call, saying the situation has demoralized both learners and teachers.
“Our pupils are eager to learn, but without classrooms, it is impossible. We are appealing to well-wishers, NGOs, and leaders of goodwill to come to our aid and help us reconstruct the classrooms,” said Mr Girale
Parents in the area have also expressed concern that prolonged closure of the school could affect syllabus coverage and learners’ performance.
“We had opened the school well this term, but disaster has now befallen us. We will be forced to stay with our children at home until the classrooms are repaired,” said Mary Chongorok, a parent.
Local education officials are yet to visit the school to assess the damage as the community waits for urgent intervention to save the learning calendar.
