Until Fred Matiang'i took over as Education CS, virtually all orders from his predecessors were deliberately defied by school heads. However, the no-nonsense CS came in and brought order in this important sector. Among the directives that Matiang'i gave was to have all school buses and vans painted yellow and the ban on holiday and extra remedial classes.
Sadly, it seems these directives disappeared with the move of the CS to Internal security docket, and Mwingi seems to be the notorious region in this. Today, schoolchildren as young as Standard One pupils are being picked for school as early as 5am.
Private schools are leading in this. These children are forced to attend school even over the weekends, and some of the school buses are not painted yellow as should be. The unfortunate account is that all this is happening under the watch of education officers and our security teams. The joy of play in our children is long gone as they leave home early in the morning and return as late as 7pm, with a lot of homework that keeps them awake till close to midnight.
I urge the incoming CS, Prof George Magoha to crack the whip on these errant teachers, schools and education officers, and together with Matiang'i, ensure they rescue our children from this inanimate life they are being subjected to. Parents no longer have time with their children. In some schools, parents have already been alerted by the school managers that children will be attending holiday tuition, even with full knowledge of the existing ban!
Mwingi - Kitui county
