School Name: Lamu Boys Secondary School
School Location: Lamu Island, Kenya
Principal: Khamis Kaviha
School Motto: Education Empowers
Enrollment: 549 Students (all boys)
I had the pleasure of sitting and talking with the Principal of the school, Mr. Kaviha, who helped to shed some light on the current situation faced for the administration and students.
Goal of the School: "To produce well-rounded students who will participate in nation building, through hard work and discipline." The Principal continued that his goals also included sending at least 50% of the students to tertiary college every year.
School Funding: The school is subsidized by the government, and the rest of the money comes from the parents of the students. The government pays the basic tuition fees for all of the students. For the boarding students, the parents must contribute over half of the total school expenses.
Resource Needs: The greatest need, according to the Principal of the school, is for technology for the students. His goal would be to computerize the school databases and to provide computer training for all of this students. There are currently very few functioning computers and no internet connection for the school. The school cannot afford to pay the expensive internet connectivity charges on the island, and schools are responsible for all of these costs. The Principal also lamented that the school was suffering from a severe shortage of books; the government is usually responsible for providing books for the students, but they had recieved no money this year for this purpose. Additionally, the school does not have a functioning library.
Current Partnerships: With the community, the school has started a library foundation. The goal of the foundation is to have a functioning library complete with technology in two years. The community has partered with the local Community Development Fund for this purpose. The school currently has no other current foreign partnerships.
Challenges: The greatest challenge faced by the administration and the teachers of the school is instilling the desire to work and perform in the students. There is currently only a 50% passing rate for the boys in the school, which should be at least 75%, according to the adminstration. Another huge challenge is that there are not enough teachers in the school. The Principal, who is also new to the position, has brought in 10 new teachers in the last 3 months, but the school is still short qualified educators.
Sources of Pride: The Principal greatest source of pride is that, "It is possible to achieve with limited means."
Inspiration: What most inspires the adminstration and teachers of the school is meeting the challenges of the community. Over 10 of the current teachers in the school were once the Principal's students, and these are the people who continue to inspire and challenge him every day. I noted that there were significant challenges facing the school stemming from the lack of teachers. During my tour, there were a few classrooms left unattended, which is unfortunate for the students being denied an education due to a lack of proper teacher funding. The Principal was new, and was working hard to remedy this situation that had been handed to him from his predecessor.
