By Roy Hezron
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has urged the government to arm teachers in insecurity prone areas.
KUPPET Deputy Secretary General Moses Nthurima said giving teachers guns would not only keep away attackers but also give tutors confidence to work in high risk areas.
“In the pockets of insecurity, teachers must be trained and provided with guns. You cannot confront a gunman with chalk,” Nthurima told the press in Nairobi.
He observed that teachers in insecurity prone areas were working and living in constant fear.
“But if an attacker knows that teachers are armed, he will think twice before invading a school,” he said and demanded that teachers be paid a risk allowance, saying they also face threats from students, parents and the community.
The demand comes in the wake of reports of teachers being attacked by students and widespread school riots.
The official also asked the government to phase out boarding schools to ensure parents play a bigger role in bringing up their children.
“When learners return home from boarding school after three months, they are foreigners to their parents. Learners should go home in the evening so that parents can have an input in their upbringing,” said Nthurima.
