258 Makueni Boys Suspended Over Refusing To Shave

258 students from Makueni Boys went on a rampage on Friday night protesting the compulsory shaving haircuts administered every month in the school.

Makueni Boys Principal Raphael Katana told the media that the students, with some keeping full beards and hair on their heads, refused to be shaved as required in the school.

When the school administration insisted on the haircuts, the students protested, necessitating their suspension.

“We shave our students every month. All students in other classes accepted and were shaved. However, the Form Fours refused and as per the Ministry of Education guidelines, we sent all of them home because they became rowdy,” said Mr. Katana.

Mr. Katana told the media that the students had been sent home to allow for investigations.

This follows a string of student unrest since schools reopened this year after they had been closed for months to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

For instance in Kisii High School where students are generally known to be good performers and well-disciplined, a student attacked two teachers, stabbing them leading to them being hospitalized. The student was in Form Three.

Mr. Edwin Mokaya sought to understand why the learner came late to class and therefore asked the student to kneel in the staffroom.

While in the staffroom, the student then took a knife and stabbed Mr. Mokaya in the back, on his legs and forehead.

Another tutor, Mr. Elvis Maoto who attempted to intervene to save his colleague also suffered stab wounds though he was discharged a short while after being taken to hospital. The two teachers were attended to at RAM Hospital in Kisii town.

Another student from Mokwerero Secondary School in Kitutu Masaba Constituency attempted to “slash” his deputy principal. Fortunately, the student was seized while within the school. He was in possession of a machete and a sharpening file. Other teachers rescued their principal from the attack.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on their part condemned students’ indiscipline.

“TSC regrets the recent attacks on our teachers by the learners in Kisii and the attempted attack by another student in Mokwerero Secondary School in Nyamira County. Let us all Kenyans of goodwill assist in mentoring our children in a positive way,” TSC communicated via their Twitter handle.

Many views have been put forward to control the increased indiscipline in school with Cabinet Secretary to the Ministry of Education Prof George Magoha suggesting the return of corporal punishment in schools.

His suggestion was quickly put down by KNUT Secretary-General Wilson Sossion who reiterated many people’s view that corporal punishment is not the solution. Instead, it could make the situation worse.

It is also notable that while teachers are banned from using corporal punishment on students some students have even died while being punished by teachers in the same period.

A 14 – year old student in Kwale County died two days after her teacher Lydia Munyori caned her. The student Aisha Awadhi was a class seven pupil complained of severe headache after she had been caned before being hospitalized.

Memsa Adbadallah, her mother blamed the teacher for caning her daughter to death. The parent informed the media that she had reported her daughter’s medical history to the school.

Memsa revealed that her daughter was suffering from sickle-cell anemia and was not supposed to be beaten or given strenuous work. This has since raised a serious debate on whether corporal punishment should be allowed in schools.

One can only imagine what could happen if illegal caning is allowed in schools.