Teachers assured of safety in row with students

By Paul Gitau

Kilifi, Kenya: Learning at a Government secondary school in Malindi district resumes Wednesday after teachers boycotted classes fearing for their safety.

Teachers at Muyeye High School had absconded duties to protest against an incident last week in which their colleague was beaten by a student. However, a closed-door meeting by the teachers and District Education Officer Mary Kamurua Tuesday bore fruits after they agreed to return to work.

Mrs Kamurua said they had resolved the differences between teachers and the students.

“My office intervened and we have resolved the indiscipline cases that had threatened learning at the institution,” she noted.

Kamurua at the same time issued a stern warning that any student who would insult or attack a teacher would be expelled from the school.

The teachers had for the last one week boycotted duties, saying their security has been threatened by the students, whom they claimed were also abusing hard drugs.

A female teacher on Monday last week was seriously injured after a Form Four student allegedly hit her with a wooden plank. The teacher had punished students for misbehaviour.

The teacher sustained a deep cut on the head and was rushed to hospital by a colleague.

The student has since been expelled.

Teachers said this was not the first incident in which a teacher had been attacked by a student at the school.