Teachers accuse politicians of fuelling school fires
The Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Fred Matiang'i (right), Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipang (centre) and Itierio Boys Secondary School Principal Andrew Otara at the school on June 27, 2016 when they visited seven out twelve dormitories that students had burnt at the institution on June 25, 2016. PHOTO | BENSON MOMANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Union officials in Kisii said competing political interests were at the centre of the wave of arson attacks.
- More than 20 schools have been extensively damaged by fires, most of which broke out in the dead of the night.
Teachers' unions have blamed political interference for increasing cases of unrest in schools in the wider Gusii region.
Union officials in Kisii said competing political interests were at the centre of the wave of arson attacks.
More than 20 schools have been extensively damaged by fires, most of which broke out in the dead of the night.
Two more schools have been hit by fire-related incidents this week.
A dormitory at Nyaguta Secondary in Nyaribari Chache was razed in a mysterious night fire while five students at Nyagokiani Secondary in Nyamira were seized as they planned to set the school’s dormitories ablaze.
Trade union officials on Thursday warned that schools have become platforms for politicians waging supremacy wars.
“Politicians are interested in ensuring that their supporters are in charge of these major schools, either as principals or deputies,” Kisii South Kenya National Union of Teachers boss Geoffrey Mogire told the Nation on Thursday.
'DISPATCHED GOONS'
Mr Mogire claimed that a local politician had recently dispatched goons to Bonchari to evict the Iruma Secondary School principal. When that attempt failed, the school’s dormitory was razed the following night.
Early this week, a blogger was detained for linking Bonchari MP Zebedeo Opore to the fire that gutted seven dormitories at Itierio Boys Secondary School in his constituency. Mr Opore has denied the allegation.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers Kisii Branch chairman Osoro Okondo asked the Ministry of Education to protect schools from undue political interference.
“We cannot afford to have a situation where schools are converted into battlefields for contests between political groupings,’ said Mr Okondo.
A Kenya Secondary School Heads Association official, Mr Jairus Onchoke, said principals had been reduced to the role of security guards.
“We are now spending our nights in dormitories with our students to prevent any arson attacks,” Mr Onchoke lamented.
Affected schools include Itierio Boys, Nyamache Secondary and Naikuru in Kisii.
