Keep Kenyan Girls in School: Support NGSS

St. Francis Nyangajo Girls' Secondary School is an all-girls boarding high school in Homa Bay County, Kenya. Nyangajo students excel in math and science subjects and their exemplary test scores have caught the attention of Education Ministry officials, who have named it as one of the top schools in Homa Bay County.

Because Nyangajo is a boarding school, the school fees are a bit higher than a typical day school. However, many of the students come from under resourced communities and struggle to pay their school fees. Nyangajo responded by lowering the yearly tuition so that it is the lowest school fee out of all boarding schools in the sub-county, but students still struggle to pay fees.

During the first school term of 2024, Nyangajo allowed students to stay in school without paying their fees so that they would be present for all their classes. When students are present for their classes, they are able to take detailed notes, utilize the school's resources, and study in a quiet academic environment. The test scores in the first term were very promising.

However, during the second term of 2024, the school fee debt was too large for the school to function. School administration struggled to pay for electricity bills, school supplies, and food for the 800 students at the school. Because of this, Nyangajo had to send home all students with outstanding Term 1 debts to collect their school fees. Students were told to return only when they had enough money to clear their Term 1 debt, which is 40,000 Kenyan shillings (about 310 USD). While some students were able to return with the money, about two-thirds of the students were out of school for over a week because of a lack of funds. Students would try to return to the school with a few thousand shillings, only to be sent home to collect more. Around 100 students were out of school for five weeks, which is half of Term 2. During the midterm exams, student performance lowered by 15% as compared to Term 1. The school administration, observing this significant drop in scores, decided to allow students to return to school as long as they cleared at least half of their Term 1 debt.

In the second half of Term 2, students returned, happy to be back in class, and the school administration made some budget cuts, such as lower quality food and no electricity for some weeks. Many students were missing notes from the first half of the term, so teachers worked overtime with those students to help them catch up. The Term 2 end term exam performance improved from the Term 2 midterm, but is still below Term 1 performance, when all students were present in school.

The total school fee debt at the school is currently around 6,900,000 Kenyan shillings (about 53,000 USD). When the debt is this high, the school struggles to stay open and provide education to the students of St. Francis Nyangajo Secondary School. But when the school administration sends students home to collect their school fees, students miss valuable class time and their exam performance falls. In Kenya, exam performance determines a student's eligibility for university and future careers.

This fundraiser has a goal to cover the current outstanding school fee debt, but any small amount of money is extremely helpful. Help the girls of St. Francis Nyangajo stay in school!