By Fredrick Odiero
Kenya Hotels and Allied Workers Union Kisumu branch secretary Mr. Chadwick Oloto has lashed out at the Ministry of Education for imposing a blanket punishment on parents following a series of mysterious arson attacks which have rocked learning institutions across the country.
Speaking in Kisumu, Oloto said it is wrong for Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha to punish parents whose children have razed down schools.
‘The government should go for individual students who burnt learning institutions because not all students are culpable of such actions. The culprits should later be taken to approved schools,’ he said.
Oloto asked the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to get the root cause of the problem so that the culprits can be dealt with.
Prof Magoha warned that parents will take full responsibility for school property destroyed by students during the wave of unrest that gripped learning institutions in the country in the recent past.
‘The government will not rebuild school infrastructure destroyed by rioting students. Parents, who are already burdened with school fees, will also carry the burden of repairing damaged school property while students involved in such unrests will face the full force of the law,’ he said.
He advised parents to guide their school going children and not neglect them.
He also blamed them for the widespread unrest in secondary schools arguing that they treat their children like “eggs”.
The CS said the hastily introduced mid-term break was meant to give students time to “cool down.”
Both primary and secondary schools are expected to take a mid-term break from November 19, 2021 to November 23, 2021.
Prof Magoha downplayed the ongoing unrest in secondary schools noting that the trend started in 2015 and that the ministry was still in the dark over the cause.
