KENYAN SCHOOLS RE-OPEN AMID ANXIETY OVER ARSON, PANDEMIC-INDUCED CURRICULUM CHALLENGES AND HANDLING GAY STUDENTS

In the last two months of last year alone, about 35 schools were razed down, with fires largely blamed on student unrest.

About two weeks ago, Kenyan students went home for the second term holidays. The days came and went by with little notice, and this week, pupils and students in primary and secondary schools are reporting back to schools for the third term.

It’s a year like no other with so much slated to happen in a seemingly limited time. With new directives coming from the ministry, teachers, parents, and students are under a lot of pressure, but the ride must go on, however bumpy it may be.

In his new year message, Prof George Magoha, the education Cabinet Secretary acknowledged that it would be a tough year and urged all to be prepared.

“The year 2022 is going to be a defining one for the education sector, especially the basic education sub-sector. For the first time in the history of our country, we will be having five examinations in a single calendar year. There will be two cohorts of candidates sitting the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examination (March and December) while two other cohorts of candidates will sit the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination in April and December 2022,” Magoha said in the statement.

The fifth candidate class is the current grade six pupils, who will do their national exam in December. The first class under the newly-minted Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) will be the first to sit a transition exam. 

After that, the pupils will join the junior secondary school for two years. The CBC education system, piloted in 2017, replaced the 8-4-4 system started in 1984 under President Daniel Arap Moi’s administration.

However, Professor Magoha’s message is not getting a warm welcome everywhere.

The National Parents Association has already said it will challenge the education ministry’s measures to curb the burning of schools, setting the tempo for a legal battle.

Nicolas Mayio, the association’s chairperson, said his legal team would go to court soon to challenge the directives. 

“We can’t have all parents punished because of a mistake done by a few students,” Mayio said.

“We can’t have all parents punished because of a mistake done by a few students,” Mayio said.

“The ministry said that when a school is burnt, all students will pay the damage fee equally, and that’s unfair and wrong. The culprits’ parents should foot the bill.”

Mayio argued that the issue of burning schools widely witnessed in the last term is a problem that can’t be blamed on students alone.

“This is an issue that teachers, principals, and the community around the schools can’t run away from,” Mayio said.

“A former principal told me that principals who are about to retire could be instigating these cases to get money. In some cases, internal wrangles among the teachers could be the cause, especially when some teachers don’t want a certain headteacher,” he added.

Mayio alleged when schools are set ablaze; unscrupulous principals use the opportunity to inflate repairs costs charged to parents and embezzle the extra funds.  

He did not, however, substantiate his allegations.

In some cases, Mayio said, the schools’ unrest could result from tribalism and nepotism from the surrounding community. He gave Sigalame High School as an example, where he said that the school was burnt because the community wanted the principal, Peter Auma, to be replaced since he was from a different tribe.

Sigalame high school is located in Funyula constituency, Busia County. The secondary school stands out among schools set ablaze after students burned dorms five separate times last year.

A section accused Peter Auma, the school’s former principal of the community members, of incompetence and poor administration.

Camulus Obada, a former area councilor, has his home next to the school. He said he is involved much in matters affecting the local community, and he served as an advisor. He is also eyeing the Member of County Assembly (MCA) seat in the forthcoming general elections. He said Auma’s focus was not on the school’s well-being.

“He didn’t teach in class. He replaced the school’s support staff and brought his people from Luo Nyanza. He also engaged in sexual relationships with the female teachers who were on teaching practice, setting a bad example for the students.”- Camulus Obada.

“He didn’t teach in class. He replaced the school’s support staff and brought his people from Luo Nyanza. He also engaged in sexual relationships with the female teachers who were on teaching practice, setting a bad example for the students,” Obada said.

Auma has denied the accusations, calling them sideshows.

“The Luhya community had no problem with me. It’s only a few individuals like that Obada guy who had issues with me because they felt that their interests in the school were at stake when I came in as the principal,” he said.

Auma went to the school as the principal in 2018.

“The bursar, in particular, didn’t want me at Sigalame because before I came, he had total control over the school in matters of finance. When I came and I started to make things straight, he and a few parents and teachers formed a clique to fight me. That’s how they fueled the burning of five dormitories,” Auma added.

Auma stated that Obada, his main accuser, has a brother who is the main supplier of meat to the school. He added that Obada’s nephew, a student at the school, was one of the students arrested as suspects of arson in the school. He blamed the government for not apprehending and punishing the culprits of arson in schools, even after investigations were completed.

“Why hasn’t anyone been apprehended following the investigations? As long as the results of investigations of these cases won’t be put in public and the culprits arrested and punished, the problem of burning of schools might not be solved,” Auma said.

After the fifth arson case at the school, Auma said he wrote a letter to the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) and asked for a transfer.

“I took the step because I feared for my life. Those people had the power to even kill me. I left, and I won’t go back,” Auma said.

Other principals defended themselves from accusations they were part of the problem.

Virginia Gitonga, the principal of Alliance Girls High School, refuted claims that teachers could be the reason for arson cases in schools, as Mayio had suggested.

“Why would a whole adult want a school to be burned for their reasons? I don’t think that any teacher can instigate such incidents,” Gitonga said.

Nicolas Mayio said that the solution to curbing such cases this year is to transfer principals of affected schools.

“When a principal will know that they will be transferred if their school is burnt, they can always prevent arson from happening because usually, they have the intelligence information,” he said.

He also advocated for rehabilitation schools to be brought back to give the convicted or expelled students a second chance. He said that children have a right to compulsory and free basic education, and no one should prevent them from getting it.

Last year, Magoha said schools should reintroduce corporal punishment to curb indiscipline among students, a statement that has since attracted mixed reactions.

Last year, Magoha said schools should reintroduce corporal punishment to curb indiscipline among students, a statement that has since attracted mixed reactions.

Haki Africa, a non-governmental human rights organization in Kenya, lashed out at the CS following that statement.

“Instead of introducing caning, Magoha should step aside. Every child has the right to be protected from abuse, neglect, and all forms of violence,” Haki Africa Director Hussein Khalid said.

Khalid said they fought to ban caning in schools for a long time, and they can’t sit and watch the country go back to the dark days.

He further said that Haki Africa would go to court to stop the ‘inhuman treatment of children, should it be reintroduced in schools.

Khalid blamed CS Magoha for the students’ unrest witnessed in schools last year.

“The problem is not students, parents, or teachers. The problem is Professor Magoha. He put in place a burdensome system after Covid-19, which is now a problem to the society,” Khalid said.

“Teachers and students are working under tight deadlines, and the pressure is too much. Imagine two years have been squeezed into a single year. Parents are paying school fees after every two months, even when the economy is as shattered as it is now. Even in classes, learners are not getting a quality education. There is shoddy learning, just for the sake of learning. Instead of all this confusion, Prof Magoha could have just counted the Covid year lost and allowed learning to resume its normal programming,” Khalid said.

Alliance’s Gitonga also offered a different opinion from her boss.

“Caning is overtaken by time, and it may not solve the problem. Instead, it will make them rebel more,” Virginia Gitonga, Principal Alliance Girls High School.

“Caning is overtaken by time, and it may not solve the problem. Instead, it will make them rebel more,” Gitonga said.

Instead, Gitonga suggested using other methods such as guidance and counseling to get to the bottom of the matter.

“These children are dealing with psycho-social issues and are projecting them through cases such as burning schools. But I believe that every child is redeemable, and that’s why we should talk to them and know what’s ailing them, and see how it can be addressed amicably,” she said.

In sharp contrast from his colleagues, James Baya, the principal of Kiranga Secondary School in Kwale County, readily welcomes the cane back.

“These undisciplined students need instant punishment. Talking to them every time they make a mistake will get them used to keep on doing the mistake,” Baya said. “Words work best for self-motivated students, but for upcoming schools like ours, the cane is necessary.”

RUSH TO COVER THE CURRICULUM

Besides the fear of students’ unrest in schools, the teachers worry about covering the curriculum before the national examinations time arrives. This year, the current form four students will do their KCSE in March, while the current form three class will sit for the exam in December this year.

Mayio said the time has been too short even to allow parents to get money to pay school fees for their children. He advised parents to try their best to foot the cost, nonetheless, but with a word of caution.

“We have some schools charging more fees than the stipulated amount. We, therefore, urge parents to pay fees as per the fee structure. If they are asked to pay more than that, they should report the school to the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC). Again, any money paid for a fee should have a receipt for parents to avoid being overcharged,” Mayio said.

Further, he said that parents should strictly adhere to the new school fees guidelines, as per the ministry of education.

According to the new guidelines, the school fees for national schools is Ksh 45,000 per year, down from the former Ksh55,000. Students in county schools should not pay more than Ksh 35,000 per year. Those in day schools should not pay more than Ksh 10,000 a year. 

Meanwhile, some principals are worried about their teachers and students, thanks to the new education calendar. Esther Kuria, the principal of Ndururumo Secondary School in Juja, is troubled.

“I know teachers and students are stressed. We are all stressed by the rush to cover the syllabus in time and get our students ready for the national exams. It’s been crazy, but we’re doing our best, though,” Esther Kuria, Principal Ndururumo Secondary School.

“I know teachers and students are stressed. We are all stressed by the rush to cover the syllabus in time and get our students ready for the national exams. It’s been crazy, but we’re doing our best, though,” Kuria said.

Kuria said the failure of both parents and the government to remit money had added salt to injury.

“It’s hard to operate without money. So much that happens is dependent on money from the government and parents. We, therefore, urge the two parties to do their part well in time,” she said.

She said that the current form three class would be the most affected due to the squeezed calendar, as they may not cover the syllabus before the exam time.

In Alliance Girls, Gitonga, the principal, is confident that her girls will be ready for the exams. She said they have covered the form four syllabus and are currently revising it.

“Nothing is impossible, as long as we don’t lose teachers and students in a burnout. However, we sacrifice for us to achieve such feats,” Gitonga said.

“For example, if a normal day has 8 lessons, we create the ninth one. We make time elastic. The way you use 24 hours matters,” Gitonga said.

Gitonga said that her school had stipulated time for relaxation to prevent her students from burning out.

“We have fun days, where we dance with the girls and allow them to eat a special diet and scream.”

Baya of Kiranga Secondary is concerned about form three students more than the form four ones.

“The current form fours are better prepared. Those in form three have a very short time, and they are already panicking. In fact, they do not believe that they will do KCSE this year,” Baya said.

CS BANS GAY STUDENTS FROM BOARDING SCHOOLS

Away from the pressures of covering the school syllabus in time, the principals gave their opinions on CS Magoha’s take on gay students.

On 31st December last year, the education CS said boarding schools should transfer gay students to day schools.

“Right now, there are contemporary cases of children who are homosexual and lesbians; they must go to day-schools close to their homes. Your responsibility should be for the greater majority and not a few individuals. Do not allow yourself to be intimidated by children,” Prof Magoha said while addressing secondary school principals.

The comment has provoked a sharp rebuke from Western Kenya rights activists, who have threatened to sue Magoha for discrimination.

“The Constitution says the State shall not discriminate against a person on any ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social status,” Western Kenya LBQT Feminist Forum program director Becky Odhiambo said, according to a report posted in Citizen TV Instagram page.

“There are no gay learners; there are learners. Children should be accorded the freedom to study wherever they want. The same Constitution encourages affirmative action,” Becky Odhiambo, Western Kenya LBQT Director.

“There are no gay learners; there are learners. Children should be accorded the freedom to study wherever they want. The same Constitution encourages affirmative action,” Odhiambo said.

Gay rights are a hot-button issue in Kenya that is sure to divide people, and educators find themselves in the middle of the firestorm they’re ill-prepared to handle.

Kuria, Ndururumo’s principal, said the issue of handling gay students has been disturbing students for a long, and a candid talk is needed to find a way to address the issue.

“I’ve witnessed cases where girls wanted to commit suicide because they were dumped by their girlfriends who went to date form ones,” Kuria said.

“We should have strong guidance and counseling departments to handle such issues,” Kuria said. “These children need to be talked to. But to me, it is not right at all. It is morally wrong, and I won’t condone it.”

Gitonga doubted if the minister’s directive would work to address the issue.

“Even in those day schools, we have children who can be influenced. What should be done is probe the causes for such behavior because it is not natural. It is demonic and ungodly,” Gitonga said.

Gitonga also weighed in on whether boarding schools should be banned entirely and replaced with day schools.

“If we close down boarding schools, we will undo the national cohesion gains that such schools have achieved. Students from all over the country meet in boarding schools. They speak in the national languages and learn more about each other. That’s something that day schools can’t achieve, as students will definitely go to the schools close to their homes,” she offered.

However, she said that the methods used to address homosexuality and lesbianism in schools should not discriminate or make the affected students feel bad and unwanted.

Baya’s response was concise: “Schools are schools. The same things happening in boarding schools can still happen in day schools.”

Hussein Khalid of Haki Africa termed the directive ‘discriminatory.’

“Article 26 of the Kenyan Constitution bars discrimination of any kind. All children should be allowed to attend any school of their choice. Their sexual orientation should not be a factor in determining the type of school to attend,” Khalid said.

However, Khalid said that parents and society should teach their children the proper morals and values but should not coerce or victimize them on their choice.

“If we keep quiet and allow this directive to come into effect, tomorrow it will be discrimination based on the students’ religion, race, and even hairstyle. That’s why we must start saying no to discrimination right from the beginning,” Khalid said.