NCCK condemns school fires, asks state to tame indiscipline

The National Council of Churches of Kenya has condemned the upsurge of indiscipline in schools and called for stern action by the government.

Nyanza regional NCCK chairman Bishop David Kodia said the government should put in place measures to stem the "terrorist behaviour among students".

Kodia said the reemergence of indiscipline in schools, especially public boarding schools, is reminiscent of a community whose deepest sense of morality and ethical values have been killed on the altar of cheap "western views" on child rights.

“We take exception to our education policy that appears to put more premiums on the right of the child than the right of the parent or the teacher to instil discipline,” he said.

Kodia, who is the ACK Bondo Diocese bishop, said the government should streamline education policies and do away with cases of indiscipline in learning institutions.

“When children are made to believe that their right to education is also equal to their right to do whatever they desire, then we are officially condoning a culture of impunity among this generation of future leaders, and whatever remnants of good ones we have, would still find it difficult to govern such a generation,” he said.

He said the burning of dormitories is not new in Kenya since the inception of bills of rights, which virtually left issues of discipline to none other than the students themselves.

Kodia termed the mode of education that does not incorporate systematic and moral aspects of discipline as a recipe for chaos in society.

“Aping the western culture is a mockery of our own culture. Even the Bible advocates for disciplinary action for any offending child or even an adult,” he added.

Kodia called for the review of the Education Act to reintroduce corporal punishment in schools.

He said there was an urgent need to arrest the current situation in learning institutions by amending sections of the law.

Addressing a media conference on Tuesday at the NCCK regional headquarters in Kisumu, Bishop Kodia said the current education policy has loopholes that have resulted in a number of indiscipline cases.

The chairman said the present culture has produced and protected indiscipline to the extent that the Ministry of Education is intoxicated with tough talks without result-orientated mechanisms to correct the errors.

Kodia said parents have been blamed for the indiscipline of their children without the right of reply. “Teachers have been warned against taking disciplinary action even in a case of glaring misbehaviour,” he added. 

He said it was time education stakeholders reviewed the cases of indiscipline that would give them space to come up with a home-grown mechanism for disciplining errant children.

Kodia said innocent children who are not a party to the acts of arson should not be made liable to any legal action or otherwise. “It’s wrong for parents of innocent children to pay for the damage caused by other children,” the bishop said.

The clergy said all installations in schools should be fitted with functional CCtvs to monitor the movements of students.

He also urged the government to invest in intelligence work in collaboration with school management to enhance the quality of investigation and preventive measures.

Kodia said there should be a policy on full-time chaplaincy work so that every boarding school should employ a ministry supported Chaplain independent of the Teachers Service Commission.

Most schools with full-time chaplains, Kodia said, have the advantage of having an independent office that can listen to students’ personal problems.

The bishop said students with cases of severe indiscipline should not be allowed in any boarding school, private and public.

“Let’s all come together and address the myriad issues bedevilling our institutions of learning. Our Kenyan identity must be enshrined in our culture and collective responsibility for any child,” Kodia said. 

-Edited by SKanyara