Magoha Reveals Causes of Student Unrest, Lays Out Plan To End School Fires
On Thursday, November 18, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha stated that his ministry was partially responsible for the recent school fires.
Magoha highlighted the packed school calendar as one of the school-based reasons of the school fires in response to queries asked by nominated MP Wilson Sossion.
He added that the government attempted to rearrange the school schedule in order to make up for the time lost during the pandemic.
As a result, students had to complete the curriculum in a shorter amount of time.
“The need to cover the curriculum within a shorter period might have occasioned over-teaching during the weekend, early mornings and late evenings,” he explained.
As a result, time set aside for co-curricular activities was largely spent in class, putting learners under stress.
Students were then denied the opportunity to participate and socialize outside of the classroom environment, with the exception of school-wide recesses.
The fires, according to the CS, were caused by a breakdown in communication between the students and the administration.
He believes the unrest is a technique of expressing underlying irritabilities.
Furthermore, he noted that some school administrative techniques may be perceived as oppressive by students who have complete freedom at home, noting this as a primary source of student dissatisfaction with the administration.
Congestion, drug and substance addiction, and insufficient counselling services are among the other school-based problems mentioned.
Laws that protect pupils who exhibit criminal behaviour from disciplinary actions from teachers are among the most significant external factors that encourage school fires.
According to Magoha, this, combined with overprotective parents, undermined student discipline.
According to the CS, the ministry has taken both short- and long-term measures to address the current school discontent.
He went on to say that the government had formed three task forces to involve stakeholders in addressing and mitigating previous and current events.
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Claire Omollo, Davy Koech, and Naomi Wangai are among the task forces on the team. The government had prepared suggestions from the taskforces for action, according to Magoha.
The ministry then worked with stakeholders to develop policy, legal, research, and monitoring proposals, as well as recommendations for teachers and schools.
The implementation will take place in phases.
