Bring back cane to curb school unrest

A group of church leaders from Kiambu and Nairobi counties are now proposing the reintroduction of corporal punishment to curb the unrest being witnessed in schools – The Standard, Nairobi, Kenya reported in 2021.

Speaking at Glory Outreach Assembly (GOA) church in Kahawa Wendani, Ruiru sub-county the bishops, reverends, and pastors under the umbrella of Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya (FEICCK) said the re-introduction of caning will curb school unrest and cases of arson.

Led by the FEICCK chairman Bishop Samuel Ngacha Njiriri they also cited the closure of schools to contain the spread of Covid-19, fatigue as a result of pressure to catch up with the syllabus and fear of exams are among the factors facilitating unrest among learners and urged the government to implement corporal punishment in learning institutions.

At the same time, the priests expressed the need for the integration of religious leaders in school programmes to instil moral values in students.

They also promised to conduct nationwide school tours to sensitise students on the dangers of destroying school property and being indisciplined.

The clerics accused politicians of failing to become good role models to children by giving them handouts some of which they use to buy drugs and petrol to burn schools.

Bishop David Munyiri Thagana of the GOA assemblies urged parents to educate children on the need to study peacefully and to remain Godly all the time.

Ruiru MP Simon King’ara said the perennial school’s unrest should be addressed by the relevant agencies through researching the root causes of the conflict and offering viable solutions.

The remarks come days after the Ministry of Education revised the high school calendar for the second term and allowed a four-day break to suppress the growing unrest in schools.

In a circular issued last week, education principal secretary Julius Jwan said students will go for their half-term break from November 19 and will resume learning on November 23, contradicting the initial ministry’s calendar that had excluded the mid-term break as students were to break for Christmas holidays on December 23.

Pressure has been mounting on the ministry to ease the pressure brought about by a demanding crash programme and which has been largely blamed for turbulence in schools.

Picture credit: Sting Pictures

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