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Why randy teachers sleep with students

County_Nairobi

Secondary School students

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) recently struck 126 teachers, two of them female, off its register and revoked their teaching licences for engaging in sexual relations with their students.

It is not the first time the scourge has reared its ugly head.

News that more than 18 girls of Chepkurkur Primary School in Mt Elgon Constituency were pregnant shocked the whole country last year, with another estimated 140 having fallen pregnant in the constituency the same year.

In a 2013 case at Vihiga Principal Magistrate’s Court, a 19-year-old school boy moved the audience into a sombre mood as he narrated his ordeal at the hands of a secondary school male teacher who sodomised him.

Prof Peter Amuka, Moi University Kitale Campus Principal, notes that a lot of suppression in society, where many cultures suppress sexual activity has contributed greatly to teacher-student relationships due to the amount of time they spend together.

“There is a lot of miseducation about sex where tutors issue all manner of threats to learners. In most instances, we teach children a bad attitude towards sex, that if they do this, there will be repercussions,” says Prof Amuka.

The literature scholar says suppression makes some people to grow into perverted adults who rape or molest the object of their desire that they were denied in their youth. He says sexual educators must teach students to distrust moral and religious values and develop their own.

There is also the thinking that some teachers may not be guilty because they were seduced by their students, a view Nyandarua County TSC director Francis Ngware dismisses as rubbish.

“Students, under any circumstance, do not contribute in any way towards teachers preying on them. They are weaklings, and teachers who are professionally supposed to be their mentors take this advantage. They cannot claim to be provoked,” says Ngware.

Ngware further takes a swipe at parents and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) for protecting offenders.

“Professionally, teachers are trained to always say no. TSC has vast resources in counties to deal with erratic teachers although many hurdles stand in its way, such as some parents settling cases at home and opting to take bribes to keep the cases a secret,” he says.

Agnes Busienei, an educational psychology expert and lecturer at Moi University, says incidents of teachers taking advantage of students sexually isn’t hard to fathom.

“The teacher grooms the student. He selects a student and exploits their naiveté, gives them attention and rewards, provides support and understanding, while slowly increasing amount of touch or other sexual behaviour through innocuous comments,” says Busienei.

This tests the children’s ability to keep secrets, desensitises them through progressive sexual behaviours; provides them with experiences that are valuable and that the children wouldn’t want to lose, and gains approval from parents.

“Each excuse for misbehaviour escalates to the next stage, and the more off-guard they make the target, and the more confused their target becomes, the better the atmosphere for manipulation,” she says.

 Judith Ngome, the Keveye Girls Principal, notes that children who are sexually abused often don’t recognise it as abuse, but mistake it initially for love.

“The trust that students and parents alike have for teachers is easily betrayed through confusing methods that lead to a sexual relationship. They then engage in it repeatedly to satisfy their sexual desires. If raped, they feel abused because of pain and threats,” says Mrs Ngome.

The teacher may also intimidate and threaten students, exploiting his position and manipulating the child’s affections. Those who fall short of physically coercing students into sex, instead use wit, charm or verbal adeptness to manipulate their victims.

“The offenders take advantage and make the children feel responsible in relationships because of the attention they get and physical pleasure,” says Busienei.

It however gets complicated when experts claim that teachers who sexually abuse children have shown exemplary performance in their teaching careers, are highly driven, focused and ruthless competitors – characteristics admired by all women.

“When students raise such cases, it is difficult for anyone to believe such offences. Also, the mindset that children are untruthful leads to many reports being ignored or given negligible attention,” Inyani observes. Many young graduates flooding the teaching profession have further increased the teacher-student sexual relationships, he adds.

But Madam Ngome blames deteriorating values in society, saying even old teachers prey on students.

“There is need for professional development, training on values, guiding students on their virtues, enhancing pre-service training on professional ethics and parents giving enough pocket money to their children. As a society, we should enhance the value for family morals,” she says.

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