Athi River District Education Officer Faith Kamau has advised Parents and guardians of school going children to coach their children during the ongoing teachers’ strike so that they do not forget about their education.
Speaking on Saturday during an interview with her in Athi River, Kamau expressed her concerns about children’s welfare during this ongoing teachers’ strike adding that its fate is still not yet known.
Kamau noted that the strike had extended the December school holiday which is always the longest in the Kenyan education calendar as compared to other holidays within the terms.
She therefore expressed her fears that if children both in public primary and secondary schools were not well guided during the ongoing education stalemate then some of them, according to her, would forget about personal studies and instead engage in unnecessary vices due to peer influence.
"Our society is full of corrupt morals hence need for parents and guardians of all school going children to take responsibilities of coaching and guiding their children especially during the ongoing national teachers strike," said Kamau.
The Education Officer said most of the times when children were out of school, child molesters and perpetrators take advantage to misuse or abuse them. Therefore she urged parents to keep an extra eye on their children not to fall victims of such.
She revealed that most children were sexually, physically abused or forced into child labor especially in the scrap metal business sector which she said was rampant in the town.
According to Kamau, some of scrap metal dealers in Athi River use school going children to collect scrap metal for sale thereby making them earn more profits as they pay those innocently ignorant underage children as little as Sh50.
“In most cases children who get attracted to the scrap metal collection business end up influencing their friends and eventually either drop out of schools or practice truancy,” added Kamau.
She also said that if parents took full responsibilities of monitoring, guiding and counselling their children during the stalemate, their academic performances would not be affected by the teachers strike.