The Teachers Service Commission dismissed 32 tutors in October alone for having sexual relations with students.
Another 26 teachers who were found abetting cheating during the KCPE exam are facing disciplinary action.
CEO Nancy Macharia said yesterday the commission will in January embark on a campaign to weed out rogue teachers from schools.
The announcement comes against grim statistics showing a high number of candidates sat KCPE and KCSE exams while pregnant.
Macharia, who spoke during the release of the 2018 KCPE results at the Star of the Sea Primary School in Mombasa, asked other government agencies to deal with the criminal aspects of the offenders.
“We can’t allow a few people to ruin our children’s future,” she said. “Those found guilty will be dealt with accordingly.”
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She urged school boards and managers not to employ people who endanger the future of children.
The ministry accused parents of abdicating their responsibilities.
Education CS Amina Mohamed wondered why parents would leave their teens on their own in the afternoons, without any idea where they are or what they are doing.
Everything has been left to teachers, she said. “What is the teacher supposed to do? What is the parent doing?” Amina asked.
Kenya National Examination Council chairman George Magoha said parents have failed.
“Why produce children if we have no time for them? It is our duty to spend some quality time with our students,” he said, ruling out supplementary exams for pregnant candidates.
Amina ordered the ministry’s quality assurance team to investigate and report all cases of pregnancies among schoolgirls to enable the ministry take remedial measures.
“We must have this conversation. We cannot bury our heads in the sand. It is happening to our children, our sisters, and even our young brothers. We will deal with it or it will not go away,” she said.
Statistics from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) indicate that between June 2016 and July 2017, approximately 378,397 teens aged between 10 and 19 got pregnant.
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