Errant students forced to dance to Ohangla band

By RUSHDIE OUDIA

Three students at a secondary school in Siaya County who sneaked out of school to a town disco were forced to dance for the better part of the day to the music of a local ohangla maestro hired by the school headmaster.

Those who schooled in rural areas know this too well; some naughty students will always sneak out of the school to attend night dances that are popular in rural areas, oblivious of the punishment that could follow if they get caught.

Dance

Normally, such students  suspension from school. But a head teacher in Nyanza resorted to a different approach to punish rogue students hooked to disco music.

The three students habitually visit a nearby resort in Gem constituency to have fun at night. But when  the three were reported to the headmaster, he decided to give them a form of punishment that they will never forget.

After a Monday morning assembly, the headmaster called upon a local ohangla musician to entertain the three Form Three students from morning to evening, with a couple of short breaks, as a form of punishment.

It was an order that they dance throughout as the crooner belted out his songs as the rest of the student body watched in amusement.

The presence of the fierce headmaster during the punishment together with bemused fellow students made the sweet music sound like torture to the now embattled music lovers.

Their colleagues couldn’t help chuckling at the strange type of punishment the headmaster had meted out on their errant mates.

But news of what took place at the school was met with anger by parents. Some said the decision to have the students dance to ohangla as teachers and fellow students watched was not the right punishment as it sent the wrong message across.

Barbaric

Some officials from the region’s parents’ association also received the news with shock and disappointment. They condemned the form of punishment terming it barbaric and not effective in instilling discipline among students.

But the headmaster refused to comment on the matter when this writer sought his comment, claiming that as a school, they had the authority to mete out any kind of punishment, so long as it was not corporal.

“I cannot give you any information concerning how we punish errant students, but I can confirm that it’s for their good,” he said.