Education stakeholders and the clergy in Siaya County are calling for moral reflection at the family level in the wake of students’ unrest and arson attacks in learning institutions.
Speaking separately in Bondo and Siaya sub-counties, the stakeholders, among them Senior Government officials and church leaders, said lack of parental guidance at home was to blame for the indiscipline that some of the students exhibited in school.
Addressing students and parents at Mbeka Girls’ Secondary School, Bondo Sub County Director of Education Alfred Moiba challenged parents not to abdicate their responsibility of disciplining their children, regretting that they had been forced to close down six schools in the region due to unrest.
He however praised Mbeka Girls’ Secondary School for remaining calm during the turbulent season.
A senior ministry of tourism official, John Kipkorir Chumo, said the public must not shift blame to teachers when students are undisciplined.
“We need to work hard to show that discipline in our homes is good,” said Chumo, who was addressing the public at Nyadorera in Siaya West Sub-county.
He said that basic behavioural traits must be modeled long before children are dispatched to boarding facilities.
On their part, Siaya church leaders led by Archbishop James Opiyo Anyango also condemned the destruction of property and recent loss of lives in schools, saying that the tragic incident at Utumishi Academy must never recur.
The clergymen urged parents to utilize the half-term break to have candid discussions with their children and advised students to seek alternative ways of addressing grievances instead of resorting to violence.
Bishop Wilfred Amolo challenged the narrative that teachers are solely responsible for student morality, noting that while parents struggle to manage a few children, teachers are unfairly expected to handle hundreds simultaneously.
By Philip Onyango
