Cops? Caning? How about God to end school unrest?

 

The Education ministry is exploring introducing a dose of God through chaplaincy services in basic education to curb arson and unrest.

The ministry is working on a framework under which chaplains can offer spiritual and moral guidance to learners in basic education.

It is working with the National Committee on Chaplaincy.

Acting director for field coordination Hassan Duale said the ministry is working with Faith-Based Organisations to develop rules and guidelines on chaplaincy.

Schools have been torn by unrest, protest, property destruction and arson since schools reopened in January after a 10-month Covid pandemic break.

Teachers have been attacked.

Students in many schools are running amok; many oppose the upcoming exams.

Duale was addressing a workshop on chaplaincy guidelines in basic education institutions. He also discussed and health and safety protocols for chaplaincy services during the pandemic.

He spoke at the Kigali Teachers Training College in Embu County .

The rash of unrest is undermining preparations for the KDPE and KCSE exams.

With fewer than 60 days to the start of the national examinations, preparations have entered the homestretch.

Stakeholders have called for intervention to arrest the situation.

In the past week alone, dormitories in at least six schools have gone up in flames.

The schools include Kisii High, Bukembe Boys' High in Bungoma, Kirimari and Kiambere secondary schools in Embu county, Kisumu School, and Itigo Girls in Nandi.  

Nicholas Maiyo, the Kenya Parents Association chairman, has warned that more schools could witness unrest in February.

Maiyo said teachers were inadequately prepared for the reopening, leading to a disconnect with learners who had been out of school for 10 months.

"A child coming back to class after 10 months is not the same child a teacher was dealing with in March last year... Some of them (students) engage in word exchange with their parents and when you impose rules and orders on them in school, the result is confrontation and even riots," Maiyo said.

Duale said the Ministry and Faith-Based Organisations look forward to ensuring t chaplains help students to cope with the ambiguities and complexities of life.

He said the inability to cope with stress and anxieties can disorient students who engage in self-destructive behavior.

He said the presence of chaplains will provide a listening ear and a caring presence for learners grappling with a crisis of one kind or another.

Duale said spiritual and moral guidance from chaplains will help learners avoid behaviour that is destructive to them and others, including schools and society at large.

Duale said the National Committee on Chaplains Services draws membership from Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, National Council of Churches of Kenya, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Seventh-day Adventists, Evangelical Alliance of Kenya, Presbyterian Church of East Africa, HINDU Council, and the Ministry of Education.

Duale said the committee is  developing draft guidelines for the provision of chaplains services in schools for consideration and validation by stakeholders before it can be rolled out.