President who? Team wants fancy titles gone

A team investigating last year's spate of school fires has recommended the scrapping of titles for student leaders.

A Ministry of Education report proposes that student leaders should not be given such lofty titles as president, vice president or speaker.

The report of a special investigation team commissioned by Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i to probe arson in schools says such titles gave students the impression that they were at par with senior State officials.

"The present student leadership titles were found to be making them assume a stature of superiority equal to the country's president," reads the report

The document presented to Dr Matiang'i found that most student leaders were found to be key perpetrators of unrest in some schools.

Currently, students elect their leaders who form a student council, in a programme started in 2008 by the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Unicef.

Primary schools

In August 2016, primary schools also adopted the student council system. Some 470 pupil leaders gathered in Nairobi to elect their national leaders.

The event organised by Kenya Primary School Heads Association (Kepsha) bade farewell to the prefects system in primary schools.

But the Clare Omolo report now proposes that the student elections should be reviewed and streamlined.

"Review the principle of democratic elections in schools and titles of student leaders to ensure that only disciplined students are elected," reads the report, which proposes that this should be done within six months.

The team also recommends a management manual on student disciplinary processes with clearly defined roles and responsibilities should be developed and issued to all schools within six months.

In addition, school administrators have been advised to follow due process in disciplinary matters to avoid conflicting with the law.

The report states that the rights granted to students by the Constitution, the Basic Education Act 2013 and the Children's Act 2001 have been abused in numerous cases.

Stakeholders interviewed by the team complained that errant students felt protected by some national and international laws, while courts were accused of being too lenient when adjudicating cases involving young learners.

The team heard that students' perceived protection by the law encouraged them to cause chaos in schools.

Perceived rights

"In one school, students told the school board that they had a right to picket and demonstrate," states the report.

The team recommends that students and other stakeholders, including human rights activists, should be sensitised on the need to maintain discipline as they demand their constitutional rights.

They also recommend school managers should provide avenues for regular interactions between students, teachers and parents.

And school administrators should stop shielding errant learners and report any students who engage in crime to the police.

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