Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera is advocating for the Ministry of Education to build boarding schools in banditry-prone areas and border regions as a means to alleviate security concerns and enhance education opportunities.
As a member of the National Assembly Committee on Education, Nabwera believes that establishing boarding schools in these areas will not only improve access to education but also contribute to the overall development and stability of these regions.
By investing in education infrastructure, Nabwera aims to create safer and more conducive learning environments while also potentially reducing the state budget allocated for security in these areas.
“The schools in the border areas like Pokot, you make all those school boardings, the Pokots and the Tugens will all be in that school so no one will go and attack because their children are there,” the MP said.
He spoke on Wednesday during an interview with Citizen TV.
“You will not need police for sure because their children are in that school. Who will go and kill the child?”
According to Nabwera, it is an unwritten rule that children and mothers are not attacked in all communities.
“You will have achieved two things by building that boarding school. One, you are ensuring that you are improving the educational livelihood of this community. Secondly, you have managed your security issues comfortably,” he said.
Additionally, Nabwera insisted that the availability of food in the institutions is key to keep learners in school.
“In pastoral communities, what would make them sedentary is food, in hard-to-live areas, what will keep learners in school is through food. You must provide food,” the MP said.
In March 2024, the escalating banditry attacks in Baringo led to the indefinite closure of 19 schools within a three-month period. These attacks resulted in the tragic loss of 16 lives and forced over 2,000 families to flee their homes, seeking refuge in internally displaced camps.
One of the affected schools, Yatya Primary School in Baringo North, remained deserted for a week in March due to the persistent threat of banditry.
The closure of schools underscores the significant impact of insecurity on the education system and the safety of students and teachers in the region.
