The government has been urged to introduce a third category of schools other than private and public for the best interest of orphans and vulnerable children.
Addressing the press at Heritage of Faith and Hope Children Home in Sabako Tuesday, the home’s director Joseph Kimiti said it is unfair to categorize such institutions as private because they are charitable and community-based.
“It is big efforts having received children when they did not have hope in life, it is however, humiliating for such a home to take them through primary education only to be disadvantaged by the nation’s education policies,” said Kimiti.
Kimiti said as the home’s management that equally runs Heritage of Faith Christian School for the sake of needy children, they have fears that a number of children from the school might not get admission to secondary schools of their dreams due to the categorization.
He said there is no private child in the country and therefore, the right of the child has to be safeguarded by the government whether the child is from a humbled background or otherwise.
“It is not easy to explain to a needy child who has scored more than 400 marks from a community-based school like Heritage why he has not been enrolled to a national school just because it is categorized by the government as private while his friends from public schools with low marks in KCPE examinations get admissions to big schools,” said Kimiti.
Kimiti said schools established under charitable children institutions should be exempted from conditions set to private schools by the government especially in the ongoing national form one candidates’ selection exercise.
He said it is unfair for children from public primary schools to be given first priorities in enrollment to national secondary schools while needy children are forgotten.
Kimiti said the homes are instrumental in the child’s growth and development because they offer orphans and vulnerable children with the opportunity to get access to education arguing that private and public schools are inadequate and highly populated hence cannot accommodate the very needy children.
He cited Mlolongo town area which he said had only two public primary schools, Mlolongo and Ngwata Primary Schools and therefore very populated.
“Most of the parents are not taking their children to the “private” schools because they are rich but due to the fact that they are poor and equally as vulnerable as their children,” said Kimiti.