Temple Road Primary: Famed pre-colonial era school that has maintained high academic bar

At the heart of Nyeri Town is a group of schools started in 1930 to cater for the Asian community before and during the colonial period.

The Temple Road schools were built by Asians, offering education from nursery, primary to secondary level all in one space separated by concrete walls.

Currently, the schools admit children from all races, religions, and backgrounds, but the rich history of the schools still linger as the institutions are near a Hindu temple.

While the schools were initially exclusive for the Asian community, in 1965, three African students joined Temple Road Primary School.

The primary school’s chairman, Idd Suleiman, said between 1972 and 1976, the primary school became a public institution, with the government providing teachers and funding.

However, the Asian community was controlling major decisions.

“In January 2006, the Asian community requested the government to have the school be privatised again, but parents declined and held protests at the education office,” Suleiman said.

Suleiman said there was an urgent meeting where the parents elected the school committee to manage the school.

He noted that for 15 years, Temple Road Primary School has posted good performance in national examinations and registered is now as junior secondary school.

Suleiman added that the primary school is not only recognised for its academic achievements but also co-curriculum activities, including drama and music.

“Our school develops the student holistically - academically and in co-curriculum activities,” the chairman said.

However, he said that the school is faced with challenges, including lack of funds for expansion, noting that the classrooms are too small and can only accommodate a few students.

He appealed to former students and other well-wishers to support the institution’s expansion, citing that though the land the school it sits on is limited, they can add several storeys on existing buildings.

“The primary school can expand to accommodate more than 3,000 students, currently the school has 857 students.

‘‘The greatest challenge is lack of classrooms. If we get funding, we can build multi-storey buildings to utilise the current space,” he said.

Temple Road Primary School head teacher, Joseph Kilafi, said that many parents come to the school seeking vacancies for their children but are turned away due to lack of space.

Temple Road Secondary School Principal, Parul Joshi, said the institution was built in 1965 and operates as a private day secondary school.

“The school has a student population of 100 students,’’ she said.

She observed that since she took over in 2009, she has never experienced such low enrolment as recorded this year. She
said that before 2018, the school population was more than 450 students but enrolment went down following the introduction of free day secondary school

“I appeal to the parents to bring their children acquire knowledge and discipline,” she said.

Nyeri County Education Chief Officer James Kiretai said Temple Road Primary School is one of the day schools locals prefer.

He observed that the school management had maintained the infrastructure built in the 1930s.

“The greatest challenge for this school is limited space to accommodate more children,” he said.