Last week, embattled KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion reacting to ongoing unrests in schools made what appeared to be an alarming remark emphasising the need to set students free.
This was to an extent of allowing them to use smartphones while in schools.
This is a pointer to a fierce ongoing battle between the wounded teachers unions and the government. Education CS Fred Matiang’i looked like a tethered goat who can only feed to a restricted perimeter as he attempted to castigate school heads over the ongoing crisis which is threatening to spill over into national schools who are traditionally known for high levels of discipline.
What is exactly going on in our schools? Could the government be facing a ‘battle’ emanating from a ‘war’ – last year’s prolonged teachers strike, which it had presumed to have won? Nothing can be further from the truth. The back-to-work court order that brought to a halt the five-week industrial action by the two teachers unions - the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KuPPET)- was largely criticised by the respective union bosses as unjust, unfair and a subversion of the teacher’s rights.
In managing to suppress the teachers on what the government referred to as ‘outrageous’ pay rise demands after such a gruelling and bitter confrontation, the government may have spoilt for a long battle that has possibly precipitated the ongoing unrests.
Uhuru's government tactfully managed to bedraggle teachers against the public and for that sole reason, Kenyan’s now believe teachers are a greedy, unthankful and a selfish lot. This has ultimately compounded the teacher – student relation and whereas teaching has traditionally been viewed as a calling, the ‘hakuna matata’ attitude has already been implanted in the already demoralised and demonised teachers. See no evil; hear no evil is the order of the day in the management and running of elucidation institutions.
Coupled with Kenya’s thieving culture where school heads have transformed these institutions into cash cows, students have been left on their own. Besides, Fred Matiang’i and his Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang have made things worse by impoverishing parents much more by relaxing fee guidelines beside introducing poorly thought out policies without proper consultation or participation from the stakeholders.
Not unexpectedly, a chunk of the students in our schools is conscious of the hardships their parents face to see them through school and would sympathise with them in whatever ways, not limited to throwing reason out of the window and destroying the same facilities their parents shall dig even deeper to reconstruct. Primary, secondary and college principals across the country are known to be stinking rich at the expense of the pregnable parents. It is common knowledge that plundered school funds have found their way in construction sites in Eastlands or elephantine farms in the Rift Valley where they veil their lucre.
It stands to reason that schools supplies are controlled by cartels under the patronage of these principals and head teachers. Imprudently, even sanitary towel funds are been diverted to private investments as students continue to ingest half cooked ugali and boiled cabbages in schools. What makes us surmise that students are blind to these glaring realities? Intriguingly, every school head starts irrelevant and incomprehensible projects that guarantee continuous flow of funds from parents throughout the year. Parents are left at the lenity of auditors who eventually collude with school heads and Boards of Management (BOMs) to cook books of accounts.
The government should regulate the fees and possibly come up with a sound policy framework where fees can be remitted through controlled channel like the celebrated Huduma Centres, where accountability can be enhanced and loopholes sealed. The CS Education should henceforth suspend all ‘parents funded’ school projects for at least five years and a thorough audit conducted across the board.
Moreover, due to their demigod status, school heads have fissured their relation with the junior teachers who are indubitably privy to their dirty swapping but have nowhere to demur. They are untouchable fortress enjoying religious protection from local politicians like legislators and MCAs to whom they provide vote hunting grounds during schools AGMs, fundraisers and prize giving days. Irrefutably, this alienates the junior teachers deflating their moral and regard in the student welfare is reduced to a husk. They have a strong line of defence and not a single teacher, parent or student can face them with complaints regarding their omission or commission.
One, a head teacher can admonish a teacher in front of his students or a parent, worst still they can issue teachers with reprimand letters to ‘show cause why they cannot be censured'. Two, a head teacher can malign a nosy teacher to the Board of Management which can lead to an interdiction or cause a suspension for a student. Conclusively, a teacher cannot report or complain directly to the County Director of Education any aberration without an authorisation letter from the head teacher. Concisely, head teachers are laws unto themselves.
Blaming school heads in the confines of parliament without instituting rational measures to tame their despicable appetite is cowardice and more schools shall burn as school heads thirst for millions of shillings projected in the reconstruction funds, need I say more?.
Mwangi X Muthiora is a blogger, poet and a political commentator.
Twitter: @MwangiMuthiora Email: fafdays@gmail.com