Anglican Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit [photo: Anglican Ink]
March, 1st 2021 – Anglican Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit says that the Education Ministry should employ religious leaders in schools as a means of ending misconduct among the learners.
Speaking in Nambale Boys High School in Busia, he said that a huge percentage of the learners have been immorally influenced. This he said is as a result of staying home during the Covid-19 period when schools were closed.
He said that the religious leaders will help the learners and teachers grow a morally enabled generation.
Sapit said, “There is a lot of need for psychosocial support in prayer, in counselling, in motivation, in giving them hope so that they are focused and they get back to the right focus in terms of education.“
He added saying, “I went to see the minister and we were able to be given permission to visit our schools, wherever we shall be so that we can be able to give them an opportunity to be refocused on what is the right moral values, the right vision and focusing in education for our children so that we curb the current menace of burning of dormitories and disruptions of learning.”
This comes as the teachers unions, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya National Union of Public Post Primary Teachers (KUPPET) demand for risk allowances for handling rowdy students.
Since the reopening of schools on the 4th of January 2021, there has been student unrest across the country. Students from the various institutions have cited reasons varying from insecurity to their grievances not met as reasons for the unrest.
Cabinet Secretary George Magoha had las month considered on reviewing the re-introduction of corporal punishment in schools.He had even banned the use of portable sanitizers in schools as many students had used the sanitizers top start the fires.
At the time, Magoha said, “I may appear old school but I think we are at a time when we need to discuss how we can bring sanity in our schools and maybe bring the cane on board once more.”
Speaking on the indiscipline nature of the students, he said, “We are not going to accept that schools be dumping grounds for students who lack proper nurture and good foundation at their homes. It is such parents who again turn against teachers, accusing them of not doing enough to control their children. That should stop.”
KUPPET had however vowed to reject the re-introduction of corporal punishment in schools citing that teachers’ lives will be at risk especially from the teenagers.
Bondo Member of Parliament, Dr. Gideon Ochanda said, These students have been free for more than nine months and were even engaged in economic activities where they earned money. Now that they are back to school where they are restricted, they can easily become unruly and therefore the schools need to find alternative methods of dealing with their delinquent behaviour as opposed to subjecting them to corporal punishment which would trigger chaos.”