Empty classrooms as alcoholism, low birth rate take toll

Mars Drinks vice President Juliana Saretta at Kanyenyaini Primary school, Muranga County when, together with her team, she donated textbooks, novels and computers. (Photo:David Njaaga/Standard)

There has been a story that in Central Province, and especially Murang’a, nursery schools are near extinct because women are not giving birth anymore.

It with this in mind that visitors at Kanyenyaini Primary School in Kangema, Murang’a were shocked to be confronted with empty classrooms, and diminished enrollment rates. A few days later, the government launched the Socio-Economic Atlas of Kenya, Depicting the National Population Census by County and Sub-location, which proved that indeed Murang’a is lagging behind in birth rates.

Based on the 2009 Census, the Atlas shows that Murang’a and Kirinyaga recorded the lowest rates at 23.5 and 26.8 live births per 1000 people respectively.

Fertility rates, number of children per one woman is also lower in Central with Murang’a having 3.0 percent against the national at 4.7 percent. Also Murang’a County has one of the highest Number of female-headed households in the country ranked at number 11.

The people of Kangema, and especially the ones affiliated with Kanyenyaini Primary are a worried lot. The teachers, parents and government representatives all give different reasons for the decline.

Kenneth Njema, a former pupil, says most of his classmates in the 1990s did not further their education.

Most are wasting away in cheap liquor joints.

“The few who got married abdicated their parental roles,” he says before gesturing at a crowd gathered for an event at the school, “Just look, all the parents here are women, where are the fathers?”

The head teacher agrees with Njema, but adds there are other reasons, including the advent of other schools. “For a long time, Kanyenyaini was the only school in this area. But then, there have emerged private academies and other public schools.” Rural-urban migration has also contributed.

But Rispah Wanjiru, a mother of two aged four and six and a tea picker gives another voice. She says that uchumi (economy) has forced them to family plan.

“Our men still drink, but we have a very serious woman ‘DO’ who flushes them out of the drinking joints.”

The ‘DO’ is the Assistant County Commissioner Miriam Wangari. Tough as they come, and speaking at the school on Friday when a group of Mars Drinks employees led by the school mentor, Jane Nyambura visited to start a library, said that she does not ‘flush them out’, “but I strictly talk about alcohol in public forums and ensure that the Mututho law is adhered.”

Wangari does not entirely dismiss alcohol, but echoes Rispah that modern living has seen changed fortunes.

“Women are getting informed and are now using contraception.”

Indeed. The Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys, 1998 and 2003 shows Central has been a leader in adapting family planning. In 1998, the province had the highest usage of contraception at 61 per cent.

The uptake increased in 2003 to 66.4 percent in Central Province and 50.7 in Nairobi. The Survey also showed that fertility increased in all provinces except Central and Coast.