Over 150 students from Chebwagan Boys High School in Kericho County have been suspended over allegations of plotting a strike that never materialised three weeks ago.
According to school authorities, the students were suspected to be planning unrest linked to the school’s poor performance in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
However, parents of the affected students have condemned the suspensions, terming them unfair and a violation of their children’s rights.
Led by parent Ann Koech, the parents questioned the decision to send students home without concrete evidence of a strike taking place.
“It is wrong to punish our children for something that did not happen. Some of us have already cleared school fees, yet our children have been sent home,” said Koech.
She added that the mass suspension could negatively affect the learners’ academic progress and appealed for government intervention.
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“We are appealing to the Education Cabinet Secretary, Migos Ogamba, to step in and help resolve this matter because it will greatly affect our children’s performance,” she said.
The concerns were echoed by another parent, Margaret Ngetich, who urged the school administration to address the underlying issues raised by the students.
“The issues the students were complaining about should be looked into instead of punishing them. Suspending them will not solve the problem,” Ngetich noted.
Some of the affected students have also spoken out, citing challenges within the school, including alleged non-attendance of lessons by some teachers.
“We raised concerns about teachers missing lessons, but instead of being listened to, we were locked out of the school gate,” said one student, who requested anonymity.
Efforts to obtain a comment from the school principal on the matter were unsuccessful by the time of publishing.
By Kimutai Langat
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