Dr Julius Jwan sent a circular to Regional and County Education Directors. [File, Standard]
The Government has warned secondary school principals against admitting students who are not formally transferred from their previous schools.
The Ministry of Education says the directive would help curb students’ indiscipline, which has led to the surge in arson cases reported in several schools across the country.
In a November 9 communication to all regional and county directors of Education, Basic Education Principal Secretary Dr Julius Jwan asked principals to insist on formal release letters while admitting new continuing students.
“Ensure that all students involved in any form of indiscipline are not allowed to transfer to any other school. Therefore, no school should admit a student who has not been formally released by the previous school,” Dr Jwan said in the letter.
The ministry also directed all secondary school boards of management to convene and share indiscipline resolutions with county directors of education.
“Schools should open up accessible channels of communication for adequate and seamless engagement with the learners, including mounting a proper mechanism for addressing grievances arising from students.”
The government said it won’t contribute even a shilling for repairs of school buildings damaged by rioting students.
“It must be noted that the ministry will not meet the cost of reconstructing destroyed school property arising from acts of arson,” said Dr Jwan in the statement, reiterating remarks made by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha last Monday.
“Let’s not pretend that we are burning a building because of stress from corona[virus]. That’s not true. The statistics show otherwise; that this madness started around 2016," he said during his evaluation of learning centres in Machakos.
At least 20 secondary schools have reported cases of arson, with most students in the institutions sent home indefinitely.
