Britam to spend Kshs. 20m to build classrooms for Olympic Primary School in Kibra

By Elisha Kamau

Diversified diversified financial services group Britam will spend Ksh 20 million to build new classrooms for Olympic Primary School in Kibra Constituency, Nairobi.

Eight new classrooms will be built as part of the group’s Corporate Social Responsibility, in a move meant to ease congestion in the school and provide a better learning environment for the students. Olympic Primary School has over 3, 500 students, one of the highest student population in Nairobi country, with most of the students coming from the Kibera slums.

Once complete, the additional classrooms will accommodate over 300 students, easing the pressure on the schools facilities and providing a better learning atmosphere. 

The school has 32 permanent, and five temporary classes, with a shortfall of 50 classes. The Ideal number of classes for the current student population is 87.

Speaking during the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the classrooms, Britam Group Managing Director Dr. Benson Wairegi said Britam has over the years been closely associated with education, adding that the company is the market leader in the provision of education insurance products and services in the country.

He said Britam would work closely with stakeholders in the education sector to realize the ministry’s long term goal of providing quality education to Kenyan children as anchored in the Education pillar of Vision 2030.

“As a group, we see this as an opportunity to offer education to more children meant to help them become better citizens and ultimately change their lives forever.”

He said that through the Britam Foundation, Britam was focused on initiatives that will help improve retention and performance of pupils in primary schools.

Nairobi County Governor, Dr. Evans Kidero noted that despite the great strides achieved by the provision of free primary education in the country, the lack of adequate infrastructure still posed a big challenge.

“The construction of the classrooms will come in handy as it will ease congestion and improve learning conditions at the school. On behalf of Nairobi County, I call upon other like-minded organizations to partner with the County Government and schools so that  we can improve learning conditions in our institutions.”

Olympic Primary performed very well in the years preceding the free primary school policy.

Over the years, the school population has increased drastically resulting in stretched facilities. While the school continues to produce many brilliant students, the overall performance of the school has dropped due to strained facilities and the high student teacher ratio.