Not so long ago Mkomani Primary School in Lamu, an island off Kenya’s coast, lacked books, desks, floors and ceilings. Today 17 brand new computers acquired with UNESCO’s support adorn its premises.A large public primary school for girls, Mkomani was established over 30 years ago. Twenty-nine teachers, of which five are paid by the Parent Teachers Association, tend to 1079 pupils. On hot sunny days the classrooms are furnaces and on rainy days the pounding rain on their iron sheet roofs seriously impedes learning. Last year only three girls from the school were accepted at National Secondary Schools and only 43% of the graduating 8th grade class went on to secondary education. On his visit to Lamu Town, the oldest best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa and a World Heritage Site,...
4/30/2008
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