Namachanja High School,Bungoma
By IP Reporter
BUNGOMA, Kenya
Namachanja High School, once the pride of Bungoma’s day schools, is now being described by frustrated parents as “a dumping pit, a scrapyard and a nightclub — all blended into one.”
The school is facing what parents politely call a crisis and what neighbors less politely call “a slow-motion collapse supervised by people who forgot they are in charge.”
Enrollment has surged, but management, parents say, “did not surge with it.”
Instead, the situation has degenerated into chaos, vandalism, drugs, bizarre reporting hours and a level of indiscipline that one neighbor said “needs a documentary, not a meeting.”
Reporting Time: 5 a.m. for Moi… 6:30 a.m. for Namachanja
While other schools in the neighborhood — including Moi Primary and Bungoma DEB — bring students in as early as 5 a.m. for morning preps, Namachanja students stroll in at 6:30 a.m.
The reason, according to parents, is not generosity or innovation.
“They had to push reporting time because the boys were arriving early to harvest metal like it’s a mining site,” said one parent, who asked not to be named for fear of being told to “raise his child better.”
Taps have disappeared. Sufurias have vanished. Metallic chairs, gutters and door hinges are apparently treated as fair game.
“Anything metal is loot,” said a neighbor. “Even my ribs fear those children.”
Scrap Metal Hustle:The Morning Shift
Parents allege that a section of students now operate what amounts to a morning scrap metal dealership, vandalizing school property under the cover of darkness and selling it before the first bell.
“You send your child to study, but he comes home knowing the price of aluminium per kilo,” said another parent. “How do you even punish that?”
Drugs Before Class
Worse still, some students reportedly stop at Mufutu and Oldrex areas for a morning dose of bhang or chang’aa before entering the school.
A neighbor who has been observing the trend said drug peddlers have found a “ready-made market of teenagers who behave like they’re doing Black Friday shopping.”
“If the principal doesn’t act, Mufutu will soon open branches,” he said.
Indiscipline Skyrockets Under New Leadership
Parents say the problem has escalated under the new principal, whose name they now mention only with sighs.
“Since this principal came, it’s God for us all and everyone for himself,” a parent said. “The school has become The Hunger Games without the cameras.”
Academics, once the school’s pride, are now shrinking faster than the metal stock.
A Biology Exam Becomes a Maternity Referral
Last week, a girl reportedly excused from a biology paper on grounds of illness was rushed to hospital — only for staff to discover she was in labour.
“The teachers didn’t know, the parents didn’t know — but the baby apparently did,” joked one disgusted parent.
They called it “peak negligence.”
Parents Call for Action
A concerned guardian who previously raised issues with the administration said he was advised to “focus on his child’s morals,” a response he describes as “the most polite shrug I’ve ever received.”
He now wants the Bungoma County Director of Education, the TSC, and the DCI to intervene.
“This school is becoming a haven of robbers, marijuana smokers and all sorts of evil,” he said. “If nothing is done, we will soon need security guards to protect the school from the students.”
Principal Silent
Efforts by the IP to reach the principal for comment before publishing were unsuccessful, as his phone was switched off.
A School at a Crossroads
Once known for strong academics, Namachanja High now risks becoming the region’s cautionary tale.
“We just want discipline, not drama,” said a neighbor. “But every morning, Namachanja gives us a new episode.”
Parents insist they are not attacking the school — they are trying to save it.
As one father put it:
“Namachanja needs help,and maybe a metal detector; And possibly an exorcist.”
