LETTERS: Hiving off Lenana land for a school a misstep

The tragedy that befell Precious Talents Academy School in Nairobi recently is regrettable. To lose such young souls in what was ‘preventable’ means we, collectively, failed these children in a way bigger than we would care to admit. We failed them with our indifference.

Indifference that made us appear ‘shocked’ that this happened in the first place. Indifference that make us surprised that a majority of informal settlements are health and fire hazards that are happenstance away from tragedy. Indifference that make us entertain politicians rushing to tragedy scene, each with ‘first aid’ immediate solutions when they had a whole length of time to plan accordingly.

It is an indictment of our low expectations as a society to accept whatever is served.

True to character, Precious Talent was no different. The area MP, Kiarie John was first to proclaim on site that there was a need for a public primary school nearby (which no one disputes) and went ahead to offer that some land be ‘hived off’ the nearby Lenana School to make this happen.

This was quickly echoed by the Deputy President who, in a tweet on September 24, said State departments will work with the Board of Lenana School to put up a public primary school to be ready by next term to cater for the children of Ngando where the school tragedy occurred.

The DP said the process was on “in earnest”.

This declaration was premature; and, two, how could could such a short turnaround time be promised for a public project of this magnitude?

But I digress. My concern has nothing to do with the efficiency of our public works department and their capacity to deliver miracles. My concern actually is the fact that none other than the Deputy President could, in a very incidental manner, purport to issue a ‘roadside’ policy statement that had far-reaching ramifications on thousands of stakeholders without a formal dialogue.

Now a couple of facts. Lenana School is endowed with a whole 238 acres. Such a massive piece of real estate lying within the Karen suburbs is definitely one to raise one or two eyebrows.

It is not the first time that political leaders in the area have salivated over that land.

The talk when one sees the expansive green that Lenana School has is not that of quick appreciation of flora and fauna but rather very capitalistic view, ‘idle land’ it’s called. As it’s always said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

The short of it is that the idea to build a public primary school within Lenana School is ill-advised for a couple of reasons.

One is that this is nether within the short, medium nor long-term strategies of the school. The overlying strategy is to create the institution into a centre of excellence.

To ask the board to start running a public primary school not only goes against the Education Act that clearly separates those roles, it also creates bigger room for a future fight for resources.

More than any other institution, Lenana School has been very accommodating to increasing its capacity to hold more students and help the government achieve its agenda of 100 percent primary to secondary transition.

From 800 students when I was a student there two decades ago, the capacity has almost doubled, putting a strain on the school resources as is the case. By seeking to add more numbers to the same institution, without a proper plan, one is basically planning a new tragedy a few years from now. For now, Lenana needs to remain intact to accommodate the growing vison of a Lenana Centre of Excellence.

Secondly, the informal settlements around Lenana School need many social amenities besides a school. They need hospitals. They need water. They need decent houses.

Most of the informal settlements sit on land bigger than Lenana and which if properly planned, should have provision for social amenities.

Thirdly, Lenana is a piece of history. Started within the current State House (then Governor’s House) in 1949, the institution’s title deed is actually protected. No one can make any variation to it without the approval of the Head of State.

Lastly, but most importantly, Lenana School was meant to be ‘green’ by design. In a world where green is disappearing rapidly, the Lenana plan has struggled to minimise buildings and maximise green cover.

Marvin Sissey, alumnus of Lenana School.