BY VICTOR OCHIENG’
Recently, a hot debate ensued, when the governor of Kisumu, Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o, hinted that Kisumu Girls and Kisumu Boys, will be relocated from the town centre to create ample space for commerce. It was a viable idea that met a lot of opposition from different quotas. In fact, some people even accused this erudite for being anti-school, when in actual sense he cannot afford to be. The good governor of Kisumu County, is a polymath and a scholar par excellence who can hardly stand antithetical to the development and enhancement of education in the society. His assertion makes a lot of sense. Albeit, Zig Ziglar argued: Common sense is not common.
Somewhat, those who are conscious of climes and times, know that since Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o ascended to the apogee of the ladder as a leader of the lake-side city, he has been working round the clock to give it a face-lift and some sartorial status. Being an astute planner only comparable to the late Tom Mboya, he is setting blueprints in this city, which shall remain stencil in the metal sheets of unfolding generations.
In the whole scheme of things, all and sundry should strive to understand that Kisumu is an old town, whose birth and growth dates back to the time of the construction of the historical Kenya-Uganda Railway. The proliferation of shops set up by the Indian Coolies and the barter trade done by autochthonous people – gave it the moniker ‘Kisuma’ which morphed to Kisumu. This is brought out perfectly in the seminal novel titled the River and the Source by Margaret Atieno Ogola. Dr. Oburu Oginga, in his (auto)biography titled In the Shadow of My Father, writes well about the origin of Kisumu.
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But veering off from that tangent, we must all admit that Kisumu Town should not remain old and ashen like ash. The county government should polish its pale parts, and give it some shine and sheen. Its growth and development is necessary. As Victor Hugo would put it, “It is an idea whose time has come.” Servants of status quo should know that change is inevitable. Change is as good as rest.
I am not an urban planner, but the veracity of the matter is that the two schools are perched on the Central Business District (CBD). Ideally, this lucrative space should be used to prop up the commercial activities in Kisumu City. In a larger sense, it is mercantile activities that spur the growth, glow and glory of a town. It justifies the relocation of those two fountains of aperitif of knowledge to sides rife with intellectual ambience. Banks and malls should supplant the schools in the heart of town so as to turn the city to a true economic hub.
Again, those who gather cowardly courage to oppose the relocation of the two schools planted in the heart of town in the years of yore, could be obviously oblivious of some sensitive matters I want to cite then drop the ball.
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By and large, Kisumu Boys and Kisumu Girls are located in places that render them unconducive for learning. Any person who is both sensible and sensitive, can think of the immense impact of the hustle and bustle in town. The notoriety of the noise that emanates from the hubbub. The cacophony of cars: Blaring, belching, screaming and farting with might. Yet, schools are sacred centres of knowledge which should be perched in pacific places. Placidity and tranquility aid learning and retention to a great extent. This can only be understood by people who have read good books like Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Meditation by Daniel Goleman, Think like a Monk by Jay Shetty, the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma. All those tantalising treatise emphasise the essence of silence in mind-mastery and management. This is quite preponderant: It should never be lost on us that mind-mastery precedes self-mastery; which our schools should strive to achieve because they are places of true formation.
Moreover, the safety and security of two schools is also compromised when we insist that they should remain in the heart of town, which is the hub of all calibre of men and women. Some of them who are wayward, can use the porous parts of the school fence to sneak in narcotic drugs, which is a menace that make some of our boys and girls mutate to blatant arsonists that fan flames of fire in institutions.
Lastly, the two schools are so much exposed hence it compromises the safety of learners. Therefore, it is imperative to find wonderful ways to manage and mitigate looming disaster. Disaster, catastrophe or cataclysm, is a serious disruption that affects a society. In this context, a school. Common forms of disaster include: theft, fire outbreak, explosions, accidents, acts of terrorism, invasion by armed people, closure due to violence, unrest, et cetera. There are three important things in disaster management and mitigation that school arrowheads should put at the front-end: One, disaster preparedness, which focuses on activities designed to reduce damage or death. Two, disaster relief, which is what is to be done in case disaster strikes. Three, disaster recovery, which explores ways of helping victims dented by disaster to recover from trauma.
The writer rolls out talks and training services in schools.
vochieng.90@gmail.com
