GK Prison Kitengela Primary School administration has suspended all Physical Exercise (PE) lessons following increased cases of learners fainting due to hunger.
The public institution with 1,800 pupils is the most populous among the four public schools serving Kitengela town and its environs and has two deputy head teachers.
The school says it is recording 30 per cent absenteeism every three days of the week due to hunger.
However, the institution reports a 99 per cent turnout of pupils every Wednesday and Friday because there is a well-wisher-sponsored meal of rice, beans and spinach.
Verbal PE
“Our PE lessons are now verbal engagement. We have suspended physical activities like football and racing due to high cases of children fainting. The emergency cases have increased and upon first aid, we discovered that the incidents were as a result of hunger,” one of the school’s deputy head teachers Nancy Ledama said.
A class eight pupil fainted during the 8 am assembly session on Monday, October 31, only for teachers to discover he had not taken any meal the entire weekend.
The incidents have seen the school teachers volunteer to buy a few packets of milk to help resuscitate those who faint over hunger
PE lessons are now instead being utilized for counselling and mentorship of hunger-stricken children.
Teachers say cases of food theft between peers are also on the rise.
“The few children who can afford to carry some little food to school is also proving to be a big challenge. The hungry lot with nothing to eat steal the food,” another deputy headteacher David Kashekwa said.
The school administration is now appealing to be considered among needy learning institutions that require urgent food interventions.
“If we get food relief, we will be able to sustain more children in school. A meal every day will play a huge role in encouraging pupils to report to the school,” head teacher Jeremiah Maloi said.
This comes amid concerns by Kajiado leaders over the rampant cases of school dropout occasioned by drought effects in the region.
Most locals entirely depend on livestock business to eke a living but the prices of emaciated cattle have sharply declined amid dozens of cattle succumbing to hunger.
