Giant step for Kenya’s schools

The first day of classes at the Doonholm Primary School, near Nairobi, in January 2003 was more than the usual uproar of returning students, anxious parents and impatient teachers. Just weeks earlier, Headmaster Margaret Ayiemba told Africa Renewal, the newly elected Kenyan government had announced the abolition of school fees, and “the teachers were not really prepared. We didn’t know what would happen.” Could the school accommodate the expected surge of new arrivals? More than 200 eager new students did arrive, adding to nearly 1,300 already squeezed into the existing facilities.