TSC to put in place measures to quell unrest in schools
Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association national vice- chair Indimuli Kahi (left) Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Chief Executive Nancy Macharia and chairperson Dr. Lydia Nzomo address the media after meeting head teachers at Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development on July 27, 2016. TSC promised to introduce guidance and counselling offices to cater for the needs of students. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Students have in the past accused headteachers of high handedness, saying their grievances were never heard or addressed.
- Mechanisms will be put in place to ensure continuous retraining of teachers and principals to equip them with the necessary skills to manage the students and handle emergencies.
- The TSC would ensure headteachers are evenly distributed across the country to avoid cases here they are posted to their ethnic regions, putting them at the mercy of community politics.
The Government will hire counsellors for all schools as part of measures to create harmony between teachers and students.
Teachers Service Commission chief executive Nancy Macharia said the counsellors would be responsible for students’ social and academic development needs in order to address grievances before they sparked protests.
Speaking to journalists after meeting with the Kenya Secondary School Head Teachers Association, Mrs Macharia said the new counsellors would be qualified professionals and would be hired directly by the TSC.
“We have also agreed that in boarding schools, all principals, deputies, teachers in charge of all boarding aspect and other key administrative staff must reside in school at all times,” she said, adding that principals would be required to work with stakeholders to schedule regular barazas to involve students in decision-making.
Students have in the past accused headteachers of high handedness, saying their grievances were never heard or addressed.
WAVE OF ARSON ATTACKS
The measures come in the wake of a wave of arson attacks that has hit public boarding schools recently, resulting in the destruction of property worth millions of shillings in more than 100 institutions.
Other decisions made in the meeting include putting in place mechanisms to continuously retrain teachers and principals to equip them with the necessary skills to manage the students and handle emergencies.
The TSC would also make efforts to ensure headteachers were evenly distributed across the country to avoid situations where they were posted to their ethnic regions where they were at the mercy of partisan interests and community politics.
The meeting was held ahead of a similar one today where Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i is expected to meet members of the clergy and head teachers in Nairobi to chart the way forward for long term solutions to the problem.
The head teachers at Wednesday’s meeting declined to discuss the possibility of schools closing early as a possible solution to the unrest. Most schools are expected to close for holidays on August 12.
