Pupils of Mwea Brethren Primary School in Kenya were shocked to find their classrooms occupied by chickens.

The cash-strapped school owner had converted the school into a chicken farm when all institutions of learning in the country were closed in March as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

All Africa reports that the pupils had arrived early Monday morning, ready to learn, but were met by thousands of chickens, which are being reared by the school management to generate some income.

Management had had to move some of the birds for learning to proceed. Beatrice Maina, the school manager, said it was unfortunate that the government had ordered the resumption of learning before her chickens could mature for sale. She said, “We had to remove some of the chickens from one of the classrooms to accommodate the Grade Four children who were the first to arrive in school to resume learning.”

While Maina stressed that the school faces challenges in terms of space, she added that the pupils would have to bear with the situation, saying, “It will take time to phase out the chickens because they have to mature and be sold.”

Maina and her husband began poultry farming to eke out a living and to pay off a bank loan. She revealed that they even had to sell one of their vehicles to start chicken farming.

All Africa reports that while pupils would not be turned away, they would have to co-exist with the birds. Meanwhile, Maina said, “We can have another site for the children, but we have no money to construct more classes. If the government avails funds, then we are willing to make the pupils comfortable.”

Umm Muhammed Umar