School principals, not management boards, will be held accountable for security breaches, a TSC official has said.
Mary Rotich, a Teacher Management Director with the
Teachers Service Commission,
said although they are committed to ensuring safety in schools, principals are the ones mandated to protect learners.
But the principals defended themselves, saying blanket condemnation and blame games are wrong as
safety is a shared responsibility.
Rotich told them: “You are personally responsible for their safety in your schools. Don’t tell us it is the board’s responsibility.
She spoke on the first day of the secondary school head teachers’ 43rd annual conference at Wild Waters Complex in Mombasa.
This year’s conference comes amid concern about students’ security, following increased cases of sexual harassment.
This has allegedly taken place at
Moi Girls School in Nairobi and Maasai Girls School in Narok.
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Indimuli Kahi, chairman of the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association,
said principals found guilty of sexual harassment or rape should be punished as individuals.
Kahi said it is unfair to hold principals personally responsible for insecurity incidents because they do not manage the schools in isolation.
Principals are only secretaries in management boards and cannot implement certain measures without approval, he said during an interview at the conference.
“Boards of Management are institutions that involve the principal and the management. It is illogical to say school heads should be held solely responsible," he said.
Regarding Rotich's remarks, he said:
“Maybe it was a slip of the tongue."
Earlier, Rotich had asked principals to take responsibility of the schools, likening them to the heads of a family. She said: “We hold you accountable because you are the fathers and mothers of our schools.”
Kahi said safety measures proposed for schools focus mainly on fires and theft, leaving out radicalisation, sexual harassment and rape.
“Principals are not trained on how to fight these vices,” he said.
The Machakos Boys’ High School principal, was elected chairman during polls held on Sunday. He said government institutions must play their role in ensuring safety in schools.
“Such institutes should pinpoint such challenges in the management of schools and organise short courses for principals on how to handle the cases,” Kahi said.