School hires untrained teachers after 13 leave over insecurity

A clan has hired eight untrained teachers to manage Ngamani Primary School after 13 teachers left due to insecurity. Differences between Chonyi and Kauma led to the closure of the school in February.

Leaders from the two clans could not agree over the boundary and location of the school and even the ethnic composition of teachers at the school. The school is located at Jaribuni on the contested boundary between Ganze and Chonyi sub-counties. Things took a turn for the worse when parents from the Kauma clan stormed the school and beat up the majority Chonyi teachers. They also withdrew their 540 students from the clan.

The school had only two ethnic Kauma teachers employed by the board and 13 hired by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). Following the attack, the 13 teachers, including the head teacher Bahari Ngala defied orders to return to the school even after being promised police protection.

The local Kenya National Union of Teachers branch supported them and in early March TSC transferred the 13 teachers. TSC also deployed a new teacher  from Nyanza who initially refused to report fearing an attack, but has now complied and reported to his new station.

TUTORS TRANSFERRED

Yesterday, Kilifi TSC Director Caroline Mwakisha told The Standard that all its 13 teachers from Ngamani Primary School have been transferred on security grounds.

Ngala confirmed he had moved from Ngamani Primary School, but did not state his new station.

“TSC has posted a new head teacher to the school to oversee its operations after the parents hired their own eight teachers,” said Ms Mwakisha yesterday.

The Standard established the eight teachers are Form Four graduates, including some who sat the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education last year.

Mwakisha said TSC and other stakeholders have reopened the school and now want to foster peace and reconciliation at the troubled school.

“From our observation, the problems facing the school have to do with the two clans, Chonyi and Kauma, which are sub-clans of Mijikenda and their conflicts over the boundary,” she said.

“This is why we have referred that matter to the provincial administration,” Mwakisha added.