School turns to agriculture to survive the tough times

Students of Rongai Boys High School in Rongai Sub-county at their school farm on October 11,2019. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

After completing their high school education, learners at Rongai Boys High School in Nakuru are equipped to face life in its totality, since they have gone through a system that demands more than theoretical learning.

A ringing bell, a scramble through classroom doors and in to farmyards within the school compound aptly sums up the daily scenario whenever the evening bell rings to usher games time.

Students rush to attend to duties as per the roster of the day, which include weeding, poultry keeping, pig, dairy and sheep farming; splitting firewood and chopping vegetables.

The initiative is a tradition that traces back to 36 years, when the school fraternity formed the Tujitegemee slogan. The slogan, would live to this day in the face of new curriculum, instilling values and skills in the ready to learn students.

Initiative a tradition

“Everyone knows their role. The boys do almost everything for themselves, and they get rewards too. We never buy vegetables because the boys plant, tend and harvest them. They also feed and milk the cows,” said School Principal Paul Emuria.

The slogan, Emuria said, was started by the late Steve Grey, an American Brother and a member of De La Salle Brothers who ran the institution. Grey, Emuria said, saw the need to equip boys with hands-on skills that would further encourage self-employment even after completing their studies.

“The lessons here run just like those in other schools. The good thing is here they get hands-on management too; some students are tasked to manage the food stores, and measure what should be cooked before handing it over to the cooks,” he said.

When the boys are done eating, they clean up. One class is tasked to clean the dishes before rushing back to the classroom. The project, he said, has worked like clock work and the students are able to balance studies and attend to their duties with ease.

Once the students are admitted to Form One, they are allowed to stay for two weeks without performing any duties as they observe how the rest conduct them. Later on, they are assigned roles as well.

“The Form One students are often tasked with taking care of animals. They are each assigned a pig sty or cow shed and sheep. At this stage, they learn the amount of hay a cow is supposed to consume. They also milk in the evenings and record production,” he said.

By working in the farm, the boys earn rewards - unlike many schools, they get the privilege to eat meat twice a week, eggs on selected days and take tea every evening.

“We never miss a good cup of tea because we have milk from the three cows. Each section has a student manager who is tasked to report on production and even choose pigs or bulls we can eat once they attain required weight,” said Reagan Kiplangat, a Form Two student in charge of the Dairy Section.

Every week, the school saves at least Sh32,000 on meat expenses since the students consume an entire 80 kilos.

“We have tasked health inspectors to check on quality of meat before it is consumed to ensure learners eat what is suitable and do not fall sick,” he said.

Elton Migwi, a Form One student and his team, is tasked with ensuring the pigs and piglets are well fed and that the mothers do not trample on their young ones during the first three days after birth.

And every morning at 6:10am, the team is up to attend to their duties of cleaning the sties and feeding the pigs, an exercise they will repeat in the evening when the bell rings for break.

“I know how to take care of pigs and I love it. I know how long they take to mature and can even estimate their weight,” Migwi said.

In the Poultry Section, Frank Nyaga, manages his colleagues to take care of over 300 chicken, a job he confesses to have developed a liking for. “It is an easy job, we easily manage the animals and record the produce, and the good thing is we eat eggs and meat,” he says.

The Farming Section is managed by eager Form Two learners. They plant maize and vegetables, which they ensure they weed accordingly to reap maximum produce. The same class is also in charge of picking vegetables and chopping them, before handing over to the kitchen staff to cook.

Cut on budget

Form Three learners are tasked with management, where they are posted to manage most duties and different sectors. They also manage the stores, a situation which according to the school, has helped students take stock of what they need. Needless to stay, this has reduced the number of workers and thus cut on budget on salary.

“The initiative is great because it moulds an all-rounded individual. At the end of four years, a student leaves here with an additional certificate on community service, where we recognise several sectors they worked in and their qualities in management,” said Emuria.

The students are also tasked with milling maize to flour and splitting logs into firewood.

To balance time and various duties, the students are up by 5am to attend morning preps before having their breakfast and embarking on the farm duties at 6:10am. Classes start at 7:10am, up to 3:30pm.

The duties, also extend through to the holiday period, where students break in turns except during national exams season when workers are contracted to perform the tasks.

“The model is to showcase that students can easily develop skills to manage themselves and perform well. Performance has been good and last year 55 out of 99 students qualified to go to the university, posting a mean of grade 6.75,” he said.

Some former students have enrolled in agri-business while others are already practising farming, exporting farm produce. A student used to manage the food store, is currently in charge of the US marine armoury.

“The competency-based curriculum is way easy here because the students are involved in almost everything besides theory classwork,” he said.