Parents in Kisii County have cited indiscipline as the major cause of the rampant arson cases being witnessed in some public schools countrywide.
They said the students are at liberty of doing what they want due to lack of corporal punishment, adding that it has cultivated indiscipline in the learning institutions.
Caren Atuya a parent at Itierio Boys High School, blamed the Ministry of Education for ending caning in schools, noting that it has led to incidences of students disrespecting their teachers and misbehaviour in schools.
“Students are no longer afraid of engaging in mischief because no one will neither cane nor give them a tough task as a form of punishment,” she added.
Another parent Edward Omonyo cited fear of mock exams as the main force behind the cases of schools being set ablaze in such a short span of time.
Omonyo asked the school heads to strive in ensuring a friendly relationship with the students by advising them on the need for dialogue in problem-solving to minimise crisis in schools.
“Parents will bear the burden by paying for damages to school property and I fully support the idea that all public schools in Kenya be insured to relieve the parents of the weighty load,” he added.
Rose Masi a parent at Sameta Boys High School, noted that the occurrences are as a result of the poor upbringing of the children in homes even before they join secondary schools.
“The manner in which a child is brought up by his or her parents determines his or her behaviour in any environment and more so, in school,” she added.
They were speaking in a forum to find a long lasting solution held at Kisii County hall on Wednesday.