Parents have been urged to take advantage of the current holidays to talk to their children, against disrupting the academic calendar and destroying school property whenever they have grievances.
Keiyo North Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Julius Maiyo said that, whereas it’s normal to have grievances, the students should follow the laid-down procedures to communicate with their respective school authorities and have any emerging complaints addressed, instead of resorting to destructive activities.
Speaking to the press in Iten, Maiyo regretted the recent wave of destruction in schools within the subcounty over ordinary issues that could have been solved amicably.
The DCC said in the various meetings he attended among the affected schools, it was saddening to find out that some parents were siding with their children instead of coming out boldly enough to tell them when they had done wrong.
Maiyo reminded parents that they would ultimately bear the brunt of paying for the damages caused during school unrests, therefore they should dissuade their children from expressing their anger through destruction.
The DCC told the students that they must always sit for their examinations saying they should study hard as there are no short cuts in life.
“The government has put in the necessary measures to ensure that the upcoming national exams are strictly supervised and there will be no room for cheating,” he said.
Maiyo regretted that some students will be forced to sit their national examinations from outside the school compound, which may affect their performance as a result of their involvement in the recent protests.
The DCC further reminded the students that whatever they do today will affect them in their future endeavours, saying there’s high competition among those joining institutions of higher learning and also in the workplace, where only the smart and those with integrity will make it.
“When you strike, you are a mob, but when you are going home you are alone, so think before you engage in any destructive activity,” he advised students.
St. Patrick’s Boys’ High School in Iten and Tambach Secondary School are among the schools that went on a rampage in the recent past, destroying school property, allegedly because they didn’t want to sit for the end-of-term examinations.
By Alice Wanjiru
