By Alex Kiprotich

Education sector is undergoing revolution that is causing friction among stakeholders.

Since the ban of corporal punishment, eight years ago, the Ministry of Education is effecting more radical and controversial changes. For instance, the issue of student disciplinary measures has raised a storm following a recent directive to ban expulsion of unruly students. Also the ministry wants class prefects to monitor teachers’ lesson attendance and report to departmental heads or the school

principal or deputy every week.

The issue of student discipline came afore after the ministry overruled Maseno School Board of Governors’ decision to expel 19 students who were allegedly found guilty of scheming to burn the school.

The board has since been forced to readmit the students after receiving sack and disbandment threats from the ministry officials.

"We have no option but to readmit them after the threats from top ministry officials," said a board member, who sought anonymity.

This comes at a time the PS Karega Mutahi said school management should find alternative ways of dealing with indiscipline.

"We need to look for other ways of dealing with indiscipline because expulsion will not help," he said. "Guidance and counselling should be adopted which is a long lasting solution," he added. The debate on disciplinary measures in schools resurfaces after the

ministry banned corporal punishment in 2001, through a Kenya Gazette notice, which scrapped clauses of the law that permitted it.

Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General Lawrence Majali termed it as the beginning of rot in

schools and a move to nurture "child kings and queens".

Mr Majali said though the intention of banning corporal punishment was not bad given that some teachers misused the cane, it did more harm to

student discipline.

"Many students are now involved in vices because they know their teachers cannot do anything," he

said.

He said the Government was in hurry to copy Western style of education but has now boomeranged on our institutions and children.

"We did away with the cane so fast without evaluating its consequences and now we are busy getting ourselves into more ruinous options," he said.

And as if to contradict the move, reportedly scores of Western parents are sending their children to Africa

where they believe teaching laced with the cane results to strong discipline.

"It is ironical that we are copying culture of people who have realised their system is not working and are sending their children to our schools,"

said Majali.

On the case of Maseno, the senior teacher said the institution expelled the students to rein in extreme truancy after the boys — all from prominent

families — sneaked out of school to entertainment joints and returned drunk.

He said some students, who were initially part of the gang but chickened out in the last minute, disclosed

to teachers and their parents how the plan was hatched. They pointed out the 19 suspects as masterminds of the plan they termed "raze down old

Maseno".

Kenya Secondary School Heads’ Association National Chairman Cleophas Tirop said the ministry has continued to issue conflicting directives, which clearly shows disconnect on what to do to correct the situation.

Tirop said last year, during the wave of school riots that saw more than 300 closed, Prof Mutahi publicly

advocated for student expulsion.

Minister Sam Ongeri concurred with Mutahi’s directive when he told head teachers to hand over strikes organisers to the police.

"Thus, the new directive to ban expulsion of students is just too confusing," said Mr Tirop.

The Government also seemed to blame parents that they were sending their children to boarding schools too early.

The Parliamentary Committee on Education recommended that children should go to boarding schools at age 11.

He advised the ministry to constitute appeal tribunals to evaluate punitive decrees issues by school management in case it does not find it fair. Maseno School Parents and Teachers Association chairman Dr Otieno Abondi said parents were now concerned about the school and their children’s safety with the return of the rogue lot.

Kuppet Secretary General Njeru Kanyamba concurred that the ministry should respect decisions made by head teachers and boards on discipline

in school.