Refusal by principals to assist in KCSE cheating among the causes of violence

What you need to know:

  • Riots have been recorded in more than 90 schools as of Friday and in most cases students burnt dormitories or other facilities.
  • Education ministry has introduced strict rules to curb cheating in national examinations and students could be feeling doubly disadvantaged.
  • The report also lists schools where students rioted because they feared mocks (Form Fours) or mid-year exams.
  • At a school in Uasin Gishu County, a teacher employed by the board had reportedly been sneaking in alcohol to students.
  • Teachers were found to have incited students to riot, which was a roundabout way of fighting the administration.

The desire to cheat in national examinations has emerged as one of the reasons creating tension in schools and contributing significantly to the widespread student unrest that is becoming a national crisis.

And independent estimates indicate that the damage could be running to more than Sh400 million for the more than 70 dormitories burnt so far.

Riots have been recorded in more than 90 schools as of Friday and in most cases students burnt dormitories or other facilities.

The calculation is based on valuation done in one of the schools, Londiani Secondary School in Kericho, where one dormitory was burnt, and experts put the cost at about Sh6 million.

An investigation report tabled before the Senate’s Education Committee last week by Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i offers insights into the numerous causes of the unrest and documents causes, damages incurred and recommendations.

The report presents incidents where students have gone on the rampage because their principals failed to assist last year’s Form Four candidates to access leaked examination papers and, consequently, in their estimation, led to their schools performing poorly.

Pointedly, two cases are reported in Uasin Gishu County where students specifically targeted their principals for failing to abet examination cheating.

In one of the cases, students burnt the principal’s house and in another, students destroyed the principal’s office. Fortunately, the principals were not hurt.

Implicitly, the students are convinced that cheating in examinations is normal and that headteachers and teachers have an obligation to assist them, failing which rebellion brews.

The question that may be asked, though, is: Why did they wait until now to protest? Why didn’t they complain earlier, perhaps, when the results were released in March since the perceived “failure or offence of omission” happened last year?

Given the fact that the Education ministry has introduced strict rules this time round to curb the runaway cheating in national examinations, the students could be feeling doubly disadvantaged that their ordinarily tough principals would not now do anything, hence the propensity to rebel to vent their frustrations.

Related to this, the report also lists schools where students rioted because they feared mocks (Form Fours) or mid-year exams and on this score, the interpretation is that teachers had not adequately covered the syllabus or the students had not been studying. Both cases illustrate poor instructional delivery and are an indictment of teachers and the administration.

Even so, the causes of the strikes are numerous, but some are ridiculous and underpin the concern that teachers and school managers are not totally clean.

At a school in Uasin Gishu County, students had a legitimate grievance: A teacher employed by the board had reportedly been sneaking in alcohol to students, which they noted corrupted their morals and contributed to indiscipline. Clearly, this raised not only ethical and professional questions about the teachers, but also the processes of employing them.

TEACHERS INCITE STUDENTS

Evidence is also presented where deputy principals incited students against principals, indicating vicious rivalry in school administration.

Also, teachers were found to have incited students to riot, which was a roundabout way of fighting the administration. Several teachers have been taken to court for inciting students. These scenarios show that there is bad blood between the principal and teachers; dysfunctional chain of command; balkanisation and groupings among teachers – all of which amount to poor administration.

Some of the cases are intriguing and reveal the level of criminal activities in school. In one case in Kitui County, a student was arrested for attempting to burn a dormitory and was taken to a police station, but later escaped from custody mysteriously.

Arguably, this looks like a seasoned criminal who has networks in the underworld or is able to cut deals with the police. Whatever the case, such a fellow is much more than a student and shows that schools could be harbouring criminals.

This explains why Dr Matiang’i declared that students transferring from one school to another must be vetted thoroughly and, in particular, decreed that those whose institutions had been involved in strikes should not be allowed to join other schools.

In the report, only one school in Narok went on strike because of the extended term dates, indicating that the contention about the revised calendar is not based on facts on the ground.

Broadly, the report indicates that there is indiscipline in schools, facilities are run down, most institutions are poorly managed, and there is external interference in the running of schools.

At the time the report was presented, 17 out of the 47 counties had been affected by the riots, but the number has since risen to 27 and the most hit being Kisii, Nyamira, Uasin Gishu, Kericho and Embu. Most affected are the former district schools, now called sub-county, which in percentage terms constituted 37.8 per cent of the reported cases, followed by the former provincial schools, now called extra-county at 31.1 per cent.

Only two national schools have reported strikes – Meru School and Chewoyet in West Pokot County. Notably, these are the recently upgraded national schools. None of the old 17 national schools have experienced riots, a testament to the fact that they are generally well endowed with resources and are reasonably managed effectively.

Two private schools have been affected, signalling that not all of them are properly managed and well-resourced.