The ongoing drought and hunger have hampered operations in most public schools, leading to an increase in child absenteeism.
According to KNUT Machakos brunch, the situation was the same in Machakos County, which is classified as arid and Semi-arid in the country.
According to Michael Ngui, Yatta subcounty secretary of the Kenya National Union of Teachers, at least 30% of children in Machakos County have not been attending school due to hunger that has ravaged their homes.
“There is a high rate of absenteeism in Machakos County; 30% of children do not attend school because they are hungry,” he said.
During a public participation meeting at Machakos Girls on Friday, he addressed the press on the sidelines of the Presidential Working Committee on CBC.
Ngui, who also serves as a KNUT National Executive Council member representing the Eastern region, has called on the government to take affirmative action to provide relief food to schools.
“We are requesting affirmative action from both the county and national governments to provide food in our schools because hunger is straining the institutions. If we don’t take that one as affirmative action, education standards will suffer,” said Ngui.
