By Kage Njoroge
Muranga Knut Executive Secretary, John Njata says the recent burning of property in secondary schools could be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He says the forced 10 month closure of learning institutions hurt the attitudes of some learners who could not adjust back to the formal schooling discipline routine when teaching resumed.
“Some students in teenage years aped negative habits and were recruited to drug abuse, crimes and immoral activities, during the prolonged, pandemic holiday,” said Njata.
He opined that discipline, organized school formal conduct, productive time use and management were discarded during the long stay at home by the learners.
Njata pointed out that most students stopped doing school work at home and instead engaged in misconduct including sexual relationships.
“They are the ones now causing trouble particularly in boarding schools,” saidNjata.
The unionist stressed that those learners are finding it punitive to adjust to school time table because it has curtailed freedom they enjoyed during the holiday.
He says the indisciplined students who feel contained in schools incite others to burn dormitories to find reasons to go home that was why they mostly burned dormitories so that they can be ordered out.
Most students, he added had lost interest in learning and were recording very poor performance in continuous assessment examinations and cover up by creating trouble in schools.
Njata also lamented that the high number of pregnancies recorded during the Covid-19 holiday is an indicator of the moral decadence and breakdown of societal values.
He noted that teenage children were introduced to drug abuse, alcohol consumption, petty crimes, small trade and boda boda business.
Njata believes those are the reasons why containing them in structured discipline in schools is being protested through burning of buildings .
Njata partly attributed the mess to poor parenting where children are not empowered with values, culture and positive teaching and guidance by their parents at home.
He said young parents had largely failed in their role to instill discipline, and character among their children.
Instead the learners with fragile minds are left exposed to learn from media and internet technology which has subsequently corrupted their way of thinking.
