By Christopher Omondi.
Kosawo Primary School in Kondele Ward, Kisumu County, has been one of the best-performing schools in my community, excelling in both academic and co-curricular activities, particularly in sports. However, the government has recently faced backlash from community members for allegedly depriving students of the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities by building classrooms on the school’s field to accommodate their Junior Secondary School. This situation has severely impacted their performance in sports after being consistently at the top for the last few years. Consequently, community members have questioned both the institution’s and the government’s commitment to supporting extracurricular activities.
“We are not against the construction of classrooms for our students, but what about our students’ physical health? Aren’t they supposed to have Physical Education classes in the syllabus? The Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning Program (KPEEL), which is responsible for the construction work, should have opted for a multi-floor building to accommodate the classrooms. The lack of active participation in sports has greatly affected social development due to limited engagement, as these activities serve as crucial spaces for sports teams to scout and develop talents at the grassroots level. We have really been affected, as there is no space suitable for all the numerous activities. We call on KPEEL Management to work on a solution that will benefit the students who are at the mentorship stage,” stated Collins Ochieng, a local councillor.
“Kosawo Primary has been a top school in terms of mentoring players in sporting activities, as well as in other areas such as music and drama. The school boasts top-level accolades in football and netball but has failed to achieve the same success in the last couple of years. We can’t train the same way we used to; all our training is conducted in the yards next to the classrooms, which nearly all sports and other activities such as drama, music, and clubs depend on. This situation has left us with limited options,” said Davis Otieno, a sports coach at the school.
The students of Kosawo Primary School deserve better infrastructure, as students in other schools, with whom they are expected to compete in extracurricular activities, have better facilities. It is unfair for students who look up to empowerment in school to rely on a yard for training when their futures depend on it.
