By Enock Okong’o
Parents from Kisii and Nyamira counties have welcomed the proposal by education stakeholders for the return of corporal punishment in schools.
Led by the Chairman of Parents Association, Kisii branch Mr. Paul Mainga, parents took the blame upon themselves for not giving adequate guidance to their children and instead leaving the duty to teachers.
He asked the Ministry of Education to allow the return of the cane to schools and asked other parents not to see it as a death sentence to their children.
“Using the cane with care has been there from the old biblical times and there is no way we can avoid it and correct the child especially the African child,” he said.
The chairman appealed to school principals to intensify pastoral programmes in their institutions as they lead students spiritually, therefore softening them.
“When parents visited schools for prayer days, it gave them some sense of moral support and cooled the anxiety especially as examinations approached,” he advised.
His opinion was echoed by Mr. Samuel Marigwa, a former Councilor from Nyamira County who asked the CS for Internal Security Dr. Fred Matiang’i to visit any school unannounced and cane any student he might find in the mess to set a base for teachers to emulate.
The former Councilor cited the District Commissioner from Tanzania Mr. Albert Chalamila who entered a local secondary school and disciplined students who were plotting to burn their school. The officer’s action, he narrated, was praised by former Tanzanian president, the late John Magufuli and since then, normalcy returned to the Tanzanian schools.
The Councilor appealed to all parents in the country to support the move to reintroduce caning if their torching of schools has to be stopped.
He further asked the TSC to avoid sending circulars schools which he said, were killing the morale of some principals from running their schools harmoniously.
“Teachers feel that they are working under pressure then sit back to wait for intimidating statements from TSC on what do,” he remarked.
The former politician asked the Ministry of Education and the TSC to delegate duties to the County officers instead of making them to work under tied hands.
