Mwer High School alumni chair seeks to sustain turnaround momentum

This article was originally published in the Tribune print issue 4 in March 2026. It was republished online in September 2026.

By the Tribune

Mwer High School is attempting a turnaround after years of decline in both student enrollment and exam performance. 

Mwer old boys are deeply involved in this effort. 

They have helped the school to get a reliable water supply, supplied the school with a machine for producing tests, and raised funds for various needs. They are also supporting some students with financial needs.

Frank Ochung, the chairman of the Mwer alumni association, visited the school on February 9 to check on the progress. He was impressed by what he found. 

The principal felt motivated, a good number of students had been enrolled in grade 10, and the students were happy to see an old boy visit them, Mr. Ochung said. 

While things have started moving in the right direction, according to Mr. Ochung’s assessment, he said a lot remained to be done.

At 45 students, the  grade 10 enrollment was still below the old boys’ expectations and the school’s capacity. 

Mr. Ochung also felt the community could do more to support the school. A team of old boys is expected to visit the school this month. 

On academic performance, Mwer raised hopes with its 2025 KCSE results. 

The school’s mean shot up by 1.87 grade points, the strongest improvement among the 17 secondary schools in Siaya West. And the school’s mean of 5.72 was its best in at least five years.

In that exam, the star subject was Agriculture with a mean of 12. 

The Agriculture class was modest with only four students, but they all scored grade A. Who did that? A teacher named Wycliffe Obonyo. He also handled Biology, which was the third-best subject after Business Studies, taught by Felix Odhiambo. 

These are the kind of results that Mwer old boys want to see. 

A large number of chiefs and teachers from Siaya West studied at Mwer. Other prominent people from the school include George Odhiambo, the National Bank MD, and Patrick Hayombe, a professor at JOOUST. Mr. Ochung, the Mwer alumni chair, is himself a certified public accountant. 

Mwer is the oldest senior school in Siaya West. The school had fewer than 150 students at the end of last year. It once had more than 1,000 students in its heyday.