A secondary school in Shinyalu has reopened its gates after a six-month closure, only to face a bizarre new crisis: the students are back, but the teachers are missing.

Bulovi Secondary School is a shell of an institution. After being shut down by the Ministry of Education for six months due to low enrollment, the school in Shinyalu, Kakamega County, has fought its way back to life. Fifty students have reported for the new term, eager to learn. But they have been met with a deafening silence. The staff room is virtually empty, occupied by just two Board of Management (BOM) teachers who are now expected to teach the entire curriculum.

The TSC Exodus

The crisis is man-made. During the six-month closure, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) transferred all eight government-employed teachers to other institutions. Now that the school has reopened, those teachers have not been returned. The result is a pedagogical disaster: two female teachers facing a workload that would break a team of ten.

"We are forced to operate with only two female teachers," lamented a school official. The students, who previously had to trek long distances to Shanderema and Ivakale, are now physically present but academically stranded.

• The Leadership Vacuum: The school’s revival is being led by the community and the Board of Management, but without TSC support, it is a hollow victory. The lack of government teachers denies the students their constitutional right to quality education.
• The Political Plea: The community has issued an urgent SOS to Shinyalu MP Fred Ikana. They are not asking for luxury; they are asking for the basic human resources required to run a school.

A Systemic Neglect

Bulovi’s plight is a microcosm of the chaos in rural education. Closing a school disrupts lives; reopening it without resources destroys hope. For the 50 students sitting in those classrooms, the lesson for the day is a harsh one: resilience is mandatory, but help is optional.

Unless the TSC acts with speed, Bulovi Secondary will remain a school in name only—a building with students, but no soul.