Kakamega North parents urged to support schools, avoid negative criticism

Parents in Kakamega North have been urged to support school programmes rather than criticise school management. Speaking during the Annual General Meeting at St. Anthony Kakoyi Secondary School, education leaders from the Sub-County Teachers Service Commission and the Ministry of Education emphasised the importance of parental support. They called on parents to promote positive engagement with school leadership and contribute to the smooth running of institutions.

The TSC Sub-County Director, Remjus Otieno, said most schools’ performances have been adversely affected by utterances from parents who are fond of criticising the running of their institutions. This demoralises both principals and teachers.

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The Director stated that those parents’ reckless utterances to their learners about their schools and teachers degrade the image and motives of the teachers.

“I want to urge our parents to be good ambassadors of our schools, as it’s where their children learn. What you discuss about your schools will determine a lot in terms of performance, and also be good role models to our children, or pinpoint someone from your village who can positively impact your child to do better academically,” he pointed out.

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He further asked parents to stop getting involved in school conflicts and to be willing to be part of the solution rather than amplify the problems within our schools.

The Director also advised the learners to take their studies seriously, calling on the boy child to step up, considering that the girl child has been empowered by society, pitting them against each other in education matters.

He said the Commission expected nothing less than good performance and commitment from teachers, as they were the determining factor in the learners’ future lives.

He warned that the commission was relying on their input to produce good results in the various institutions, and if they were found not compliant, action would be taken against them.

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For her part, the Sub-County Director of Education, Rose Chisumi, hailed the overall performance, which saw massive university and college intakes compared to previous years.

However, she noted the laxity of fee payment in most of the schools and attributed it to the hard economic times being experienced countrywide.

She further called on parents to provide guidance and counselling to their children, as this would give them the needed direction for better results.

“As parents, I remind you to dance with your baby in this school, and you should be at the forefront of standing in favour of their institutions,” she said.

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Chisumi praised the notable improvement in KCSE results. Still, she said the sub-county had not recorded a straight A since 2021, challenging the school to break the record of producing several quality grades, as it had the capacity.

School Principal Linet Kidiga assured the parents and education officials that this year, they were aiming to double the university enrollment to 165 and push the mean to 6.5.

“I’m banking on the stakeholders’ support to attain this. However, late fee payments have been an issue at the school, both from parents and the government, halting many educational programs,” she noted.

The principal directed the parents to ensure that they registered their learners with the social health authority so that they could access medical attention in times of need while they were at school.

BY Wakhungu Anfanje