By John Majau
A teachers’ lobby group has demanded for establishment of breastfeeding centres in schools so as to boost teachers’ performance in class by ensuring lactating teachers are always close to their babies as they grow.
The Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA) CEO Benta Opande argues that a breastfeeding teacher can tackle her duties diligently when their child is near her.
“We want to support the young female teachers who have young ones and feel the need to go home and breastfeed them. When the child is near the teacher, the teacher is more productive and quality education is enhanced,” Ms Opande said.
The Kewota CEO observed that female teachers, especially those with young children, are forced to go home often during school days to breastfeed thus spending a lot of time and money.
She wondered why the government is still dragging in the matter since a law was passed in 2016 compelling the government to build breastfeeding facilities in all public institutions.
The Kewota CEO spoke at St Mark’s Teachers Training College in Kigari, Embu County during the closing ceremony for this year’s inter-college athletics championships.
At the same time, the Kewota official proposed that the Ministry of Education starts a sporting event for teachers from the grassroots to the national level in order to boost cohesion and their mental health.
“We read in the news even about teachers committing suicide. We want the ministry to get involved and address the issue of mental health because it is real and it cannot be ignored,” said Ms Opande.
On the other hand, the Director-General of the State Department of Early Learning and Basic Education Elyas Abdi expressed concern over increased cases of teachers who are molesting learners and called on the tutors to uphold integrity.
“When parents and the society trust you with their children, respect that trust as expected. We are getting reports that there are teachers out there who mishandle young students and it is unacceptable in our society,” he said.
