The M-Pesa Foundation has launched the construction and equipping of Wasio Comprehensive School at a cost of Sh72 million in a move aimed at improving access to quality and digital learning in Migori County.
The groundbreaking ceremony held at Wasio Primary School in Suna East Sub-County is the second one in Migori County, after the first one was constructed at Komolo Rume in Awendo Sub-County.
Speaking during the launch, Principal Secretary for Investment and Asset Management, Cyril Odede, termed the initiative a transformational investment that would uplift education standards in the region.
“We are here today for the groundbreaking ceremony of this mega project. This school was built in the early 60s, and these are the same buildings that were put up by our grandfathers and later on our fathers,” said PS Odede.
The PS, who revealed that he schooled at the institution before completing his CPE in 1976, expressed gratitude to the foundation for responding to the community’s longstanding appeal for improved infrastructure.
“I want to thank the M-Pesa Foundation and Chairman Ogutu for answering our cry because we did not know that one day we would have a project like this. This is going to be a model school within Migori,” he said.
Further, he noted that poor infrastructure had forced many learners to transfer to neighbouring schools, adding that the new project would reverse the trend and attract more students to the institution.
“I expect that by the time this project is over, the enrolment of this school will go up because at one point we were losing students to neighbouring schools because of the infrastructure,” he added.
Odede further called for stronger partnerships between government and the private sector in supporting development projects, citing limited public resources and increasing development demands.
“What we collect as domestic revenue, 60 percent goes to servicing debt while another 30 percent goes to recurrent expenditure. The remaining 10 percent is not enough for development and therefore we must partner with private institutions,” he states.
The M-Pesa Foundation Chairperson, Joseph Ogutu, said the project is being implemented under the M-Pesa Foundation’s “Citizens of the Future” programme, which seeks to modernize learning institutions across the country.
Ogutu said the project will include construction of new ECDE classrooms, primary and junior secondary classrooms from Grade 1 to Grade 9, and a modern ICT laboratory equipped with 40 computers, internet connectivity, projector facilities, and a high-speed printer.
“The whole idea is that all learners in this institution should be able to interact with computers at the earliest opportunity so that they are prepared for a digital future and become globally competitive,” said Ogutu.
He disclosed that the foundation plans to support construction and upgrading of 500 schools across the country by the year 2030 under the initiative.
“As part of this initiative, M-Pesa Foundation is committing to do 500 schools across the country over the next five years. That is about 100 schools every year up to 2030,” he said.
Ogutu added that the institution will also receive modern furniture, fire extinguishers, and energy-saving cooking stoves to support the school feeding programme and ensure compliance with Ministry of Education safety standards.
“For many schools we visit, we find that the best meal learners get is the one they receive in school. We therefore hope the community will support the feeding programme so that learners can remain in school and continue learning comfortably,” he said.
The construction project is expected to take nine months, with completion and handover scheduled for March 2027.
By Polycarp Ochieng and George Agimba
