Pupils still running errands on school time, says report
DESIGN | BENJAMIN SITUMA
What you need to know:
- A review of the report by Nation Newsplex found that a quarter of the pupils polled stated that abuse existed in schools, ranging from physical to verbal. Of those who said abuse existed, 87 per cent said it was verbal, while 13 per cent said it was physical.
- The IEA report also revealed that students noted when teachers failed to come on time. The failure by teachers to report to school and attend classes impacts directly on academic performance by denying pupils learning opportunities.
- Suspension from school and asking pupils to stand outside the classroom as a measure of punishment were reported by pupils in most counties, denying them learning opportunities.
Teachers in Taita Taveta County have ignored a directive issued five years ago by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) that bans pupils from going to their houses for any reason whatsoever, a report by the Institute for Economic Affairs has found.
Corporal punishment, which is also banned, also continues to be rampant, the report says.
The Citizen Report Card on Service Delivery in Public Primary Schools surveyed pupils in Baringo, Busia, Kajiado, Kilifi, Mombasa, Nairobi and Taita Taveta counties. The non-profit group Action Aid, one of the sponsors of the study, runs education programs in these counties.
Despite a ban, eight per cent of pupils surveyed in Taita Taveta County are required to cook for teachers during lessons.
Such errands are prohibited because they deny children learning opportunities. In addition, children running errands often find themselves alone and vulnerable to exploitation by abusive teachers.
Although no other county reported cases of pupils cooking during classes, the pupils said they were more likely to be treated rudely, neglected or taught by a drunk teacher.
Pupils were most approving of how their teachers handled them in Mombasa and Kajiado counties, with 93 per cent of pupils in both counties saying their teachers treated them well. Pupils in Kilifi and Taita Taveta county were the least approving of how their teachers treated them, with 82 per cent saying their teachers handled them well.
When pupils were asked why they felt teachers in Taita Taveta were not treating them well eight per cent said they were made to cook during class time, another eight per cent said they were excessively punished, 17 per cent cited favouritism, 42 per cent said teachers were less caring, and a quarter said the teachers were rude or cruel.
Worryingly, 20 per cent of pupils surveyed in both Taita Taveta and Kilifi indicated that their teacher comes to school drunk.
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ABUSE
In the report, students noted there was both mental and physical abuse, with and also reported they themselves had experienced such abuse. Interestingly, in four counties the percentage of those who reported the existence of abuse at the school, was lower than the number of students who reported they had experienced abuse personally.
The highest proportion of pupils surveyed, 98 per cent, reported the presence of abuse at school in Kajiado County, with 61 per cent reporting personally being abused.
In Nairobi County, 66 per cent of pupils reported the presence of abuse in school, but 77 per cent of pupils reported having personally experienced abuse. Nearly three out of five (59 per cent) said the experience was verbal, 35 per cent cited pushing, 3 per cent cited pointing out children's weaknesses and another three per cent cited beating.
The third highest proportion of pupils reporting abuse was in Taita Taveta County, where 45 per cent of those surveyed reported abuse. However, 72 per cent reported actually having faced abuse in school.
In Mombasa, while 30 per cent of the pupils surveyed reported the presence of abuse, 42 per cent reported having personally experienced abuse. In Busia County, while only six per cent reported the presence of abuse, thirty three per cent, more than five times as many, reported personally experiencing abuse.
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
In April this year, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) banned 22 teachers from working in any school in Kenya, whether public or private, after they were found to have had sex with their students.
The teachers, who are all men, were investigated between 2014 and 2015 by the disciplinary committee of the TSC. In 2015, 126 teachers were deregistered due to misconduct, and similarly, 100 of them had sexual relations with their students.
During the secondary schools student council forum in Nairobi, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i raised concerns over increasing cases of pre-marital sex. He revealed that last year 3,000 female candidates who sat for national examinations did so while pregnant while others sat the exams after giving birth.
The TSC code of conduct requires any teacher who has reasonable grounds to believe that sexual abuse has been committed against a pupil or student in their school, any other school, or outside the school to report such a case or suspicion to responsible officials within 24 hours.
Responsible officials include head teachers, education officials, school management committees, and boards of governors, police or any organisation working with child protection issues, or the Teachers Service Commission within 24 hours.
The ban dates back to a circular dated April 29, 2010. The then TSC Chief Executive Officer, Gabriel Lengoiboni noted the Commission was concerned with the increasing cases of violence (physical, psychological and sexual) against pupils and students and recognised that it was a violation of their human rights wherever it occurs, whether in their homes, educational institutions, communities and places of care.
“No teacher shall induce, coerce, threaten or intimidate a pupil/student in any way and particularly in regard to their academic performance, in order to have sexual relations with that pupil and student,” said the circular which was addressed to education officials and school heads.
ENFORCEMENT LOOPHOLES
Elimu Yetu co-ordinator Janet Muthoni blames the failure on enforcement of policies by government agencies. “We have loopholes at two levels, at enforcement and community level, making it hard for protection of pupils in school,” says Ms Muthoni.
She regrets that despite teachers being educated, some of them have been at the forefront in going against the guidelines that seeks to protect children in school.
The IEA report also revealed that students noted when teachers failed to come on time. The failure by teachers to report to school and attend classes impacts directly on academic performance by denying pupils learning opportunities.
Pupils in Taita Taveta and Baringo counties indicated that their teacher comes to school less regularly, while the lowest percentages of pupils from Nairobi and Kilifi (49 per cent and 45 per cent) indicate that their teacher comes to class on time.
The common inconvenience to pupils accessing education in school identified by parents is teacher absenteeism, as indicated by 75 per cent of parents from Mombasa County and 60 per cent from Nairobi County, Kajiado at 50 per cent, Kilifi and Taita Taveta at 46 per cent each. Busia County has the lowest absenteeism rate at 25 per cent.
Pupils in all the seven counties surveyed indicated a lack of or inadequate teachers for Science. Pupils in Kilifi and Mombasa counties say that they lack teachers for Islamic Religious Education (IRE). A percentage of pupils in all but one county, Mombasa, indicated inadequate teachers for mathematics.
CANING CONTINUES
In instances where teachers are not available, such subjects are not taught in the school and can affect the choice a child makes in terms of selecting subjects aligned with his or her capacity or preference.
Despite the ban by the government on corporal punishment, 62 per cent of pupils in Busia County indicated they were punished by caning. Suspension from school and asking pupils to stand outside the classroom as a measure of punishment were reported by pupils in most counties, denying them learning opportunities.
Section 36 (1) of the Basic Education Act, 2013 states that “No pupil shall be subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in any manner, whether physical or psychological.”
Other counties pupils indicated punishment by caning to be used are Taita Taveta (40 per cent of those surveyed), Nairobi (50 per cent), Kajiado (50 per cent), Baringo (48 per cent), Mombasa (45 per cent) and Kilifi (49 per cent).
According to Education Principal Secretary Dr Bellio Kipsang corporal punishment is not allowed. “Teachers who go against the law on corporal punishment risk disciplinary action,” said Dr Kipsang.
The study involved both qualitative, or focus group discussions, and quantitative survey tools. These included two questionnaires, one for the child attending a public primary school and the other for the child’s parent or guardian.
