Organization of Private Schools against Reintroduction of Corporal Punishment in Schools
The Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) national chairperson Mutheu Kasanga has revealed that she is against the reintroduction of corporal punishment in schools.
The reintroduction of corporal punishment or rather caning has been suggested on many occasions by some stakeholders in the education fraternity including the Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha.
Kasanga implored parents and all other stakeholders in education to respect and protect public property.
The KPSA called for better leadership in schools in a bid to curb the increasingly common student unrests which have led to the burning down of school buildings and even destruction of school property.
She pointed to the Kyanguli Secondary School incident where she argued that even though caning was allowed back then, the incident still happened to kill 63 students.
“Corporal punishment comes together with anger and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Instead of being fair, you might end up hurting people’s children who may, in turn, react differently. Parents should begin by correcting their children at home because teachers cannot really do a lot in terms of instilling discipline in children. The parents have to take on a bigger role,” she said.
Kasanga added that teachers should find other ways of solving issues with learners amicably without force as this could anger learners and create a tense atmosphere.
On Covid-19, the KPSA Chairperson said that the measures put in place are quite good and blame should not be laid on them as a cause of students’ unrest.
Besides, Kasanga said that strict measures within the Kenyan Constitution should be put in place to ensure that learners culpable of the incidences face the full force of the law.
“Learners involved should never be readmitted to any school whether public or private because they might cause the same incidences in other schools,” added Kasanga.
She also supported CS Magoha’s view that school property should be insured.
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