By Peter Otuoro
School heads in Nakuru county have warned politicians to stop using school going children in their campaigns and instead let them proceed with their learning.
Nakuru County Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) Chairperson Charles Manyara while speaking to Education News in Nakuru City said that some politicians were using school going children as political agents which is against children rights and The Basic Education Act of 2013.
“It is also wrong to use school children in political campaigns because in case of any conflict between opponents, the children might get hurt and end up derailing the course of their lives”, said Manyara.
Mr. Manyara asked political aspirants to preach peace and tolerance during and after the campaign and election period so as to maintain peace and order for smooth continuation of the academic calendar.
“Peace is important in improving the education standards in the county because through peace, students and teachers will be able to carry on with education matters,” he added.
Furthermore, he appealed to the leaders to avoid spreading tribal animosity through polarisation and offensive language.
“Nakuru is a metropolitan County where all tribes of Kenya live in harmony with Europeans and Asians. We want our political leaders to use civilized language during their campaign so as to unite all tribes and races living in Nakuru County so that we can remain neighbors and friends before and after the August poll,” said Manyara.
He urged IEBC officials to practice professionalism and conduct free and fair polls.
The chairperson thanked the Provincial Administration led by Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Maalim Mohamed for conducting a peace meeting together with other stakeholders and urged security agencies to be available in the ground to ensure security is maintained in all parts of the county.
“All secondary school heads in Nakuru County thank our Regional Commissioner Maalim Mohamed for meeting with stakeholders and putting in place measures to maintain peace in this region,” he concluded.
Nakuru County has 400 public secondary schools and 150 private secondary schools.
