- Motivating the top students and the staff has been taken to heart, with the learners being regularly exposed to mentors, motivational speakers, and examiners to parade them for success.
- The school exhibits a high level of discipline, with indiscipline cases being rare.
- Their target is to attain a mean score of 9.50 and above.
We have set aside extra hours for the students, under the supervision of their teachers, to allow them enough time to grasp the required nuances in all the subjects
Dr. Zachary Rabago, Principal.
Founded in 1994 as a harambee school, Mwongori High School has, over the years, become one of the go-to high schools in Nyamira County and beyond.
It is a public, mixed-boarding high school located in Borabu Sub-County in Nyamira County.
The extra-county institution is currently nurturing a population of 1949 students (1005 boys and 944 girls).
While at school, their academic and social needs are met by a staff of 52 teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission and 32 under the Board of Management, alongside 32 other support staff members.
Dr. Zachary Rabago, the Principal at Mwongori High School, joined the center of excellence early this year.
He is currently streamlining the school and setting it up for more profound excellence.
Ready for eminence
Over the years, the school has been on top of the academic curve, exhibiting a great deal of excellence and being a bridge for numerous students to join university.
Last year, Mwongori High School registered a mean score of 9.14, sending to university all the 437 candidates who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations from therein.
Appreciating that this success is the fruit of hard work, teamwork and a vibrant learning and excelling culture nurtured among the students and their teachers, the principal says that this year, they have aimed higher.
Their target is to attain a mean score of 9.50 and above.
The current candidature stands at 481 prepared students.
Strategizing
“We have set aside extra hours for the students, under the supervision of their teachers, to allow them enough time to grasp the required nuances in all the subjects,” Dr. Rabago clarifies.
While this might be a tall order for teachers elsewhere, Mwongori High has footed all the to and fro transport costs for the teachers, allowing seamless and timely interaction with the learners all through.
The school’s van and two buses are also a boost in achieving this.
He adds that they will have finished the syllabus by the end of this June.
For the candidates, this places enough time on their hands to revise for the rest of the months ahead of the national examinations.
A scholar and a believer in the essence of consultation before implementing, Dr. Rabago comments further about their strategies:
“Under the stewardship of Richard Atuti, a devoted and well-informed leader, we have a very dedicated and very conscientious BoM. We have involved these members all through.”
The school has also normalized listening to the students, factoring them into the school’s decisions.
“For any policy we pass, and anything else we need to, we involve our students, who are the consumers, then from there we move as a group, leaving nobody behind,” the principal explains.
Motivating the top students and the staff has also been taken to heart, with the learners being regularly exposed to mentors, motivational speakers, and examiners to parade them for success.
“We have also encouraged team teaching, where a teacher is given a topic to handle and help the students understand its finer details,” adds Rose Otwori, Deputy Principal, Academics.
She also notes that the school has strengthened Guidance and Counseling to give the students hope and ensure they are mentally stable all along.
Every day, the students have a full hour dedicated to science subjects, tagged “Science Hour”, with practicals of the same being done each Sunday.
Their Mathematics Program and joint examinations with other top-cream schools are their additional strategies placing them above their peers and pulling their goal closer.
Identifying, nurturing talent
Sports, games, scouting, theater arts, and music festivals are some of the co-curricular activities in which the school has also excelled.
Art and design students have also been able to explore their talents, using their talent in architecture, fashion and decor design, calligraphy, and other exploits.
Recently, three of the Arts and Design students designed the drama decors, which the school’s drama students used in a play titled The Governor, which represented the school at the regional level.
According to Albert Ombuna, HoD Clubs and Societies at the school, they have 15 vibrant clubs and societies, each getting equal attention from the school leadership.
He says these clubs and societies have been a sure avenue of not only meeting the learners’ curiosity but also offering growth opportunities to those inclined towards advocacy, journalism, scientific innovations, environmental conservation, and other areas available for student exploration and service to humanity, such as the Red Cross.
“They also encourage several values such as leadership, unity, and mutual learning, helping the students to appreciate diversity and creativity. They go a long way in coaching them towards holistic growth in various aspects,” he told Scholar Media Africa.
During the interview, we zeroed in to the Journalism Club, which has an active membership of over 60 members, chaperoned by Cosmas Nyabuti, their Patron and a teacher of Kiswahili.
“We train them on principles of effective communication, discipline and ethics in journalism, and other aspects of importance, and also give them an opportunity to showcase their talent,” says Mr. Nyabuti.
He explains that whenever the school is participating in any external event, the club sends at least two students to cover the proceedings, who later keep the school in the know upon return.
The club’s aim is to scout for talent, nurture it and release well-baked students whose passion for the media industry is alive and well-positioned.
Mr. Ombuna states, “The principal shows interest and pays close attention to the progress of all clubs, societies and the entire aspect of nurturing talent; he understands how significantly they impact the young minds.”
Infrastructural developments
Upon joining the school, Dr. Rabago set out to make the school appealing to the eye, as every stakeholder gets their ducks in a row towards the target results.
“I am almost completing the boys’ dormitory, which I found at about 60 percent and is now at about 85 percent and moving towards completion,” says the principal.
The project is government-funded through Maintenance Infrastructure Fund (MIF) in collaboration with NG-CDF, alongside parents’ financial input.
Once complete, it will comfortably accommodate nearly 2400 beds, allowing the young learners peaceful and enjoyable nights.
Dr. Rabago says that after the nearly complete dormitory is completed, the next step is expanding the girls’ residential area by constructing a new dormitory for them.
Further, he has renovated several classes and improved the school’s sanitation, especially concerning the student washrooms.
The school is currently being face-lifted, with a specific interest in the school’s theme colors for uniformity.
According to the Deputy Principal Academics, the school has a well-equipped library, accommodating about 200 students in one sitting, and also boasts of well-equipped laboratories.
Rewarding excellence
Efforts of the students and staff are regularly rewarded.
“We are organizing for an education day on July 21, 2023. We will award the students who did excellent in their 2022 KCSE and also the current top students,” explains Ms. Otwori, adding that the entire team, including the support staff, is highly motivated.
Trips, revision books, text and exercise books and other forms of awards are what excellent students receive.
Discipline all-over
Though mixed, the school exhibits a high level of discipline, with indiscipline cases being rare and highly discouraged.
Kennedy Omariba, Deputy Principal, Administration, clarifies to us that “…the students’ discipline is okay. The students are self-driven and we rarely receive major discipline cases.”
He acknowledges that discipline and excellence are twins, and the school usually involves students in formulating disciplinary measures, where necessary, under sufficient guidance.
Two multi-purpose halls are available for the students, each gender meeting on their own, just as the classes for girls and for boys are separate, but with same teachers.
“We also invite people to come and talk to them on discipline, drug and substance abuse, and also conduct training sessions for the student leaders,” says Mr. Omariba.
The county government and other entities have also chipped in, supporting students through bursaries and sponsorships.
Several of them are beneficiaries of Wings to Fly by Equity, Elimu Scholarship, Jomo Kenyatta Foundation and other charity agencies and organizations’ financial assistance.
Challenges
Delayed disbursement of project funds from the government and irregular and unpredictable payment patterns by parents are some of the major challenges bedeviling the project and the entire school.
Dr. Rabago says that the delays make it impossible to move with speed, and also make the projects more expensive due to the rising cost of construction materials.
The school’s staffing is also inadequate and the school head says that would they get more teachers from the TSC, the money being spent on the many BoM teachers would be diverted to other school projects.
“Late reporting is one of the major challenges on the part of our students,” points out Ms. Otwori.
During his service in the school, he visions raising the school into an academic giant.
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“I could also like a continued involvement of all the stakeholders, put up the girls’ dormitory and also witness the school being further staffed by the TSC,” he says.
