The leading Mayoni Township Primary School in Matungu sub-county of Kakamega County has rolled out an elaborate plan aimed at giving out the best to Junior Secondary School learners in the school, thanks to the positives being made by the soft-spoken Headteacher Mr Benard Wesebebe.
Established several years ago by the defunct Mumias Sugar Company, Mayoni Township has been the centre of excellence in academics in Matungu and Kakamega County for years following impressive performances in academics year in and year out.
As many schools grapple with myriad challenges, especially in Junior Secondary Schools, Mr Benard Wesebebe has put everything to see to it that his 270 learners get nothing but the quality training they deserve.
“When I joined this school a year ago, I had a fair share of challenges and I chose not to sit pretty and let the status quo be maintained. I had to put measures aimed at improving the work environment and boosting the morale of the teachers so that we can continue being at the helm of academics just as the school history dictates as I believed that a healthy environment will yield super results,” said Mr Wesebebe.
According to Mr Wesebebe, his ultimate goal is to leave Mayoni Township better than he got and he is optimistic of making it.
Among the measures that Mr Wesebebe has introduced in the leading school at the centre of Matungu Constituency are as follows.
a) Boosting the morale of teachers by making their workstations better.
According to the headteacher, one cannot realise production in a hostile environment. Mwalimu procured a reasonable television set, installing Wi-Fi and internet for teachers, tiling the staffroom and getting them super office furniture so teachers feel very comfortable in the school.
b) Introduced 4 O’clock porridge for the teachers.
The school programmes start as early as 6.00 a.m. and teachers leave the school very late, thus the need to take good care of their meals whenever in school.
c) Introduced Zeraki exam analysis for the learners and teachers to post and print the results
d) Introduced a special diet for the teachers.
In the majority of the schools in the locality, it is only Mayoni Township where teachers don’t contribute anything for the lunch programme and the programme is entirely taken care of by the administration.
e) Streamlined Boarding section,
The boarding department has picked up so well and the school prides itself on the epitome of cleanliness in the subcounty.
f) Employed Matron to take care of the students.
We saw the need to outsource the services of the Matron to take care of the welfare of our learners who stay in the compound (boarders) and this has helped us a lot in minimizing the cases of sickness and also ensuring that our learners are also very clean.
g) Introduced accommodations for teachers in the school.
The school has some teachers who stay in school and they help a lot in taking care of the learners effectively, especially in the morning and evening preps.
The school can accommodate a reasonable number of learners in boarding and asked the parents to consider enlisting their sons and daughters in the school boarding department.
Parents of the leading school have been hailed for being very supportive of the school programmes as they cannot run effectively without their support.
As all this is happening, the school has had to grapple with its fair share of challenges among them:
- Lack of Laboratory which affects science practicals yet learners will be subjected to practicals in the national examination.
- Inadequate classes as more students are still joining the school in various grades and this is a major challenge though the Ministry of Education has given us one classroom for grade 9 which is under construction and is expected to be completed by mid-October this this year.
- Shortage of teachers. The majority of the teachers who were seconded to this school are teachers who had pursued humanities at the University and so science subjects still have some challenges.
- Textbook issue is also a major challenge as the government used Grade 6 enrolment in supplying books yet we continue to admit students in Grades 7 and 8 and even in grade 9 next we expect to have more learners than what we had in grade 6.
Mr Wesebebe also has long-term plans for the school and he intends to:
- Put up a perimeter wall around the school to secure the learners while in school.
- Put up modern dormitories to accommodate more children in boarding
- Making the school the centre of excellence in the country going forward.
The award-winning school has also put in measures aimed at improving their sports teams and in 2025, the school will have a formidable team for Soccer boys.
