Two secondary schools have been shut down due to a drastic drop in student enrollment in 2025.
Ragia and Kiambogo secondary schools in Kiambu County were also shut down over poor performance during the 2024 KCSE examination.
Confirming the closure, Lari Sub-county education officer Benjamin Muthengi said some of the school facilities like classrooms have been converted into storage facilities.
Science laboratories, have also remained dormant and untouched since completion of practical examinations last year.
"The reason why the school (Ragi Secondary School) was closed was because of low enrollment," Muthengi said. "January this year, the school did not receive any students."
Education stakeholders and political leaders in Lari now want a meeting convened to explore the possibility of merging the two schools to improve the quality of education in the constituency.
One of the schools, Ragi Secondary School, had a mere student population of 150 from form one to form four distributed in two classes for each form.
Parents within the locality have opted to withdraw their children from the school and take them to neighbouring schools that have more students.
While the reasons behind the low turnout at the schools remain unclear, area MP Joseph Mburu believes below-par performances could have something to do with the two schools' plight.
"There is a conversation we are having with the community and if in agreement, we will send a formal request to the Ministry to have the two schools merged and convert one of the buildings to something else," Lari MP Mburu said.
The two schools' plight is similar to another curious case at the heart of the sprawling Mugwandi village in Kirinyaga County, where a learning institution has only one form two student and eight teachers, all employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Area residents faulted the TSC for the school's situation, accusing the commission of taking too long to appoint the school's headteacher.
They also expressed fear of enrolling their children at the school due to its name Mugwandi, which in the local language, Kikuyu, means failure.
