By Festus Bett
New Boards of Management (BoMs) for secondary schools have been inaugurated in Sotik sub county to serve for the next three years.
The joint inauguration ceremony for all schools which was held on 29th June at the 181 Safari Club Stadium in Sotik town was conducted by the Bomet County Director of Education (CDE) Mr Apollo Apuko and his TSC counterpart Mrs Mary Kola.
While addressing the gathering, the CDE lauded the stakeholders in Sotik sub county for emerging the best sub county among the five sub counties in Bomet county in both primary and secondary school national examinations.
He urged the new board members to do everything possible to ensure that education standards are boosted and infrastructural development is realized in their schools.
On her part, Mrs Mary Kola urged the board members to exercise their agency roles in strict fidelity to the established norms and the law. She decried the many incidences of teenage pregnancies in schools and called on all stakeholders to ensure that the trend is reversed.
She further challenged the members to be at the forefront in championing for justice and the protection of the girl child from abuse.
The County Education Board (CEB) chairman Dr Kirui ,who is a senior lecturer at Moi University expressed optimism that the new management teams had all it takes to transform the education sector in Bomet County since they consisted of an array of professionals from various fields with impeccable academic credentials.
He challenged them to offer mentorship to students across the schools and support them morally and financially. He observed that drug and substance abuse among learners was on the rise in the county and that urgent action needed to be taken to curb the vice.
Furthermore, he advised principals and board members to reach out to not only professionals in their communities but also the school alumni to support needy children and develop infrastructure
The KNUT secretary Mr Malel Langat lamented on the acute teacher shortage in the county and called upon the TSC to post more teachers.
He congratulated the teachers in Sotik sub county for the impressive performance in KCPE and KCSE. He also urged them to uphold high moral and ethical standards as KNUT will not defend any teacher who engages in misbehaviour.
The event was attended by a host of dignitaries that included the Catholic Diocese of Kericho Education Secretary John Kirui, Bomet County Education Board chair Dr. Kirui, Union representatives Malel Langat (KNUT) and Paul Kimetto (KUPPET).
MP aspirants Amb. Francis Sigei, Dominic Kosgei and Dr Kipchumba Towett who are eying Sotik Constituency parliamentary seat also graced the event.
(The writer, who attended the function, is an ardent reader of Education News and Deputy Principal, Gorgor High School in Sotik, Bomet County)
