From books to grass: How Friends Bulovi School collapsed

The once-bustling Friends Bulovi Secondary School in Shinyalu Constituency, Kakamega County, is a shell of its former self.

The walls are cracked, and the compound has become a cattle-grazing ground. Desks and textbooks lie locked behind rusty doors with dream of learners collapsing in silence.

Bulovi is among the 10 secondary schools listed by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba as operating with low enrollment.

For more than two decades, Henry Muchelasia has been the school’s caretaker. When The Standard visited the institution, he was alone, tending to overgrown grass and ensuring the doors remained locked.

“I started working here in 2014,” he said, brushing dust from his hands. “But since January, no teacher or student has come back. Only I remained,” he said.

According to Muchelasia, the school, which was among those flagged as “ghost schools” by Ogamba, has ceased operations.

The caretaker recalls that when schools reopened in January, a few students reported back as usual, but there were no teachers.

“Students opened the school as usual, but neither the teachers nor the principal came. After two days, even the students stopped coming, and I remained alone. That’s how the school died,” he narrated.

Greener pastures

He said he reported the situation to the local chief and told him that he wanted to leave the place and look for greener pastures, but he was instructed not to leave.

The once-lively playground is now a dusty football pitch where youths spend evenings kicking makeshift balls.

“When you see them playing here, you can’t believe it used to be a school,” said Muchelasia. “But at least the field is not wasted.”

He hopes the government will one day recognise his service and pay him for his work.

“I’m still guarding the school because I was told it belongs to the government. I hope one day they will pay me. Imagine I am managing a place that I am not sure when it will open or who will pay me for the work. I was employed by the school, and it’s no longer there,” he said with a faint smile.

According to the caretaker, the collapse of Bulovi Secondary had little to do with enrollment numbers and more to do with a scandal.

He alleges that the last headteacher, who took over in 2023, was involved in an affair with a Form Three student, an accusation that outraged parents and tore the school’s trust apart.

“The principal was embarrassed when he was confronted by the student’s parent and he has never stepped here again. When other parents heard about the matter, they transferred their children to other schools,” Muchelasia recounted.

Paul Were, a resident, confirmed that the incident led to a mass withdrawal of students.

“No one wanted their daughter in the school,” he said.

“Most students were forced to transfer to faraway schools while some dropped out,” he said.

Isaac Nanjendo said the school was their hope, and since it closure, those who were worked there lost their jobs.

“People were working as cooks. Some had opened businesses around, but now have been forced to leave.”

Bulovi Secondary was established in 2014, the brainchild of residents led by former chief Caleb Natili and its first principal named Jeff Omar.

According to Natili, who retired in September 2025, the school was built through community effort to save children from walking to faraway schools.

“Our children walked long distances to access education. Parents contributed to buy land and construct classrooms. The government later posted teachers,” he said.

Natili, who oversaw the school’s founding, says the closure left him deeply disappointed.

“Bulovi was the only school in our area. We started it to assist the community, but now our children are walking long distances again,” he said. For a time, Bulovi seemed to thrive. Its small population, around 60 students, did not dampen the community’s hope.

“We believed the school would grow with time. It gave hope to families who could not afford boarding school,” Natili said.

He called on the Ministry of Education to reopen the school, saying it is vital for local learners.

“The buildings are there. The compound is there. Why not reopen it? The government should post teachers and give our children another chance,” he said.

However, Kakamega County Director of Education Stephen Abere said they have since classified Bulovi as one of the institutions that “ceased operations” after the number of students went down to 40.

“I can confirm Bulovi closed a year ago, and the last exam they did was in 2024. Come January 2025, the numbers had drastically reduced, and it was not valid to keep the teachers in school,” said Abere.

He said the Teachers Service Commission withdrew teachers from the school.

“The school had about 20 students, and you cannot keep teachers at a school when it has few students.

He dismissed the allegation of a student-teacher affair, saying they were not aware about it.

“If it were true, the matter could have reached us, but we are not aware of such a case,” he said.

He added that they are engaging the leadership of the community with hopes that one day the school will reopen.

Abere said at the moment there is no crisis since there are other schools around, but they are in talks with the community to ensure the reopening of the school.

Before its closure, Bulovi Secondary had about 64 students, according to records from early 2024. Despite its small size, the school had consistently registered candidates for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination.

In September, CS Ogamba released a list of 10 “ghost schools” across the country that were either non-operational or had fewer than 15 students. Friends from Bulovi Secondary in Kakamega were among them.

The ministry’s audit revealed that several such schools continued to receive capitation funds despite lacking requisite student numbers or functioning administration.

In its latest audit, the ministry found that over 6,000 schools have fewer than 100 learners, while 10 secondary schools have been shut down after investigations revealed zero enrollment, raising concerns over possible mismanagement of public funds.

The 10 secondary schools that have been closed are Kiria Secondary in Nyandarua, Dr Machage Moheto in Migori, Ragia Forest High in Kiambu, Mugwandi Mixed in Kirinyaga, Friends Bulovi in Kakamega, Loiwat High in Baringo, Ngamba Secondary in Murang’a, Sintakara Secondary in Narok, Maji Mazuri Mixed in Baringo and Fr. Leo Staples Girls in West Pokot.

Ogamba noted that of the 6,000, some 2,145 public primary schools had fewer than 45 learners each, while 3,979 junior secondary schools had 90 or fewer students.

He said even as the audit is ongoing, the discovery of 10 secondary schools with no learners highlights the potential loss of billions of shillings disbursed to ghost students.