high school menace

We are running on a copy and paste system that doesn’t consider the values upheld by our fore fathers. The developed countries have had the time to systematically build up institutions and methodologies based on their integrated cultures. On the other hand, Kenyans are aping almost everything from the developed countries. We want to have an American constitution, the economic prosperity of China, am even smelling a Kexit stunt on the EAC by my beloved country. The confusion that is ensuing resulting from our methods is well demonstrated by the chaos in the country.

For example, the secondary school strikes happening are ripple effects of a culmination of various factors. They also serve as an example to the copy paste way of tackling issues discussed above. Corporal punishment was abolished recently. It was implemented in both primary and secondary schools. This was viewed as a step forward, as corporal punishment is viewed as being barbaric and achieves zero mileage in deterring errant behavior. Teachers who administered discipline using the cane started facing prejudice leaving them demoralized and feeling betrayed. If you have taught in a primary school, you know the kind of damage caused when a teacher decides to do his/her work only. “nitafanya kazi yangu ya kufunza mtoto, discipline na performance ina wenyewe” they say.

Before you demonize them, take a minute and evaluate the circumstances leading to the above type of surrender. How is a teacher, especially in primary school supposed to correct an errant child if his/her hands are tied in using what has been working for decades? There are children who have some sort of inbuilt resistance that can only be eradicated by the use of the cane. We claim to be Christians yet contravene the bible, for it is clearly written, spare the rod and spoil the child…….AMEN. In our own wisdom and through the influence of some foreign educated, high ranking government officials, we decided to abolish every form of corporal punishment. Cajoling kids in primary school and coaxing them through their high school education will only work in Kenya in 2200. ‘Ati Brian, you have been grounded’. Hiyo time, huyu brayo ndo hutoa form ya supper time kamenukia maparo.

Teachers held demonstrations gunning for a better pay. I am told that, actually, they were demanding the implementation of a promise made to them by the government. The latter resulted in futile bullish tactics jam-packed with threats. The teachers stood their ground, prompting the intervention of the president. This resulted in the knut sec general, Sossion mwenyewe , calling off the strikes amid what I have established, was against many teachers wishes. They went back to work feeling cheated and humiliated. It does not need the words of an expert to anticipate the effects this had on the students. Treat teachers badly; get complications in the schooling system. It was even taught in the backyard computer colleges, GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). My point being that the government treats the teachers with a little more decency if they want to resolve issues in the system.

The problem of students burning schools is a multifaceted problem. Discussing them comprehensively might demand a thesis kind of post. However, in addition to the above discussed challenges, the following are questions that might help in providing some much needed pointers

1 Have u heard an uptown school being lazed down? Could it be that counseling works for them and the elimination of corporal punishment disadvantaged the others?

2 Could it be that Matiang’i is right that exam cheating cartels could be behind some of the strikes?

3 What if the first school was demonstrating the denial of viewing a footballmatch and other schools followed suit, then it rippled into other schools: “wale wasee wameenda home wazae,tunafanya nini chuo, kanuke raiaa.?”

4 Could it be the middle income earners surge has led to less involved parenting, leading to kids being dumped in boarding schools at a very early age? Consider the most important socializing agents needed in the growth of a child, and in the boarding school arrangement, the peer group wins.

5 Are the people tasked in researching the causative elements and solutions to this problem doing it behind closed doors?