Schools scrap evening preps due to insecurity

By Edwin Cheserek

Eldoret, Kenya: Most day secondary schools in Bungoma County have scrapped evening tuition so as to release students early due to insecurity.

Some students have also opted to stay out of schools altogether because they are traumatised after witnessing brutal attacks on their relatives.

And teachers are now worried about the consequences the disruption of learning could have on performance in national examinations.

These are among the concerns expressed during a five-day conference by the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha) in Eldoret.

The killings in Bungoma featured prominently as teachers from the region under the grip of insecurity demanded authorities take action.

Kessha Bungoma Chapter Chairman Keya Sabwani raised concern that schools in the area could be subjects of attacks.

“The run-away crime in the area needs to be nipped in the bud because it is likely to affect education standards,” he said.

Mr Sabwani noted the situation was nearly disrupting learning in schools and called on the Government to address the matter.

“Though insecurity is part of the many challenges facing the country, the situation in Bungoma has not been handled to our satisfaction,” he explained.

Speaker after speaker voiced concerns on the state of security and petitioned relevant authorities to put in place measures to contain the situation.

Leaflets in school

A Principal in one of the schools in Bungoma, who requested not to be named, said a gang had circulated leaflets in the school warning of an impending attack.

“We do not know who are the next targets because the criminals have been unleashing terror randomly,” she told The Standard outside the conference.

As a result of the current situation, she said students have been forced to arrive late because of fear of the dreaded gang.

“Our official reporting time is normally 6.45am but students especially in day schools arrive hours late,” she added.

To ensure students are safe while attending lessons, the Principal said day schools in the affected areas have suspended evening preps as a precaution.

General safety

“We release students as early as 5pm because we do not want to be blamed when anything happens to the students,” she said, adding that they were concerned about the general safety at the institutions.

She added that even the night guards employed by the school are not well equipped to deal with the vicious gangs.

The teachers’ conference, which was opened by Bungoma Governor, Ken Lusaka, and attended by over 300 heads, seeks to transform teacher management for better results.

County Director of Education Daniel Mosbei pointed out that security remains a critical element to create a conducive and enabling environment for learning.

“Although the meeting seeks to find ways of improving performance in schools, security has to be guaranteed to achieve the set goals,” he stated.

He asked the Government to understand the plight of the victims of insecurity and step up security surveillance.

The meeting was told lives continued to be lost yet the Government had the capacity to install adequate security apparatus to check the crime.

Governor Lusaka told the meeting that the Government is tackling complexities that exist in the provision of security by encouraging cooperation from the residents.

He disclosed that a group of suspects had been arrested in connection with the killings and would be prosecuted when investigations are complete.