- Coaches and games teachers have raised concerns that some Heads of Institutions have selected close allies over the trainers who guided teams through the sub-county, county and regional stages of the KPSSA and Junior School national championships.
- The affected trainers have called for greater transparency in how officials accompanying teams to nationals are nominated, urging the Ministry of Education and school sports associations to set merit-based guidelines.
- The national Junior and Primary School Games have continued in Thika across disciplines including football, volleyball, netball, athletics, rugby and handball, with stakeholders hoping the concerns will prompt reform.
Questions have emerged around how school administrators accompanying teams to the ongoing Kenya Primary Schools Sports Association (KPSSA) and Junior School national championships in Thika, Kiambu County, were selected, with several coaches and games teachers alleging that trainers who earned their teams’ place at the finals were sidelined in favour of others.
The affected coaches claim that some Heads of Institutions opted to travel to the national championships with individuals they consider close allies, rather than the coaches who had guided the same teams through the sub-county, county and regional stages of the competition. According to these trainers, teams that made it all the way to the national finals often did so through the commitment and sacrifice of specific coaches, only for other individuals to be handed the opportunity to attend the championships in their place.
The disgruntled teachers describe the practice as demoralising and unfair, arguing that it strips deserving trainers of the chance to gain exposure at the highest level of school sports while denting the morale of those still expected to nurture young talent back in their schools. They say the pattern risks discouraging coaches from investing the same level of commitment in future competition cycles if their efforts can be overlooked at the final hurdle.
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In response, the trainers are pushing for greater transparency in how officials accompanying teams to national competitions are nominated. They want the Ministry of Education and the relevant school sports associations to develop clear guidelines that prioritise merit and reward the contribution coaches make throughout the entire competition calendar, from the sub-county level right through to the nationals.
Central to their argument is the belief that national school games should recognise and reward teachers who commit their time, expertise and personal resources to developing learners’ sporting abilities, rather than leaving that recognition to the discretion of individual school heads.
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The national Junior and Primary School Games currently underway in Thika have brought together top-performing schools from across the country competing in football, volleyball, netball, athletics, rugby, handball and other disciplines. As the competition continues, stakeholders say they hope the concerns raised by coaches will prompt reforms that guarantee fairness, accountability and proper recognition for the genuine trainers whose work underpins the success of school sports nationally.
By Jeff Kirui
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