Why are New School Principals being rejected in Nyanza Region?
According to our research, poor performance in their former stations is the reason many school principals appointed in Homabay and Siaya counties have been turned away by parents.
At Ulumbi Mixed Secondary School in Gem Yala, parents protested the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) transfer of the school’s principal and replace him with God Ber Secondary School Principal in Homabay.
The new principal was to replace Mr William Oyamo who had led the institution for three years.
Parents expressed their concerns, saying that they suspected the new principal was not a good performer in delivering good results.
“Our school needs a principal who performs and who instils discipline and work culture. These, in my view, are not the qualities of the new school principal,” said one parent who preferred to be anonymous.
Another parent, Mr Omondi complained about the decline in Form One admission with the school having previously admitted 200 students but admitted a meagre 50 students this time round.
This is a big problem and it requires a good principal who has a good track record to fix it,” said Mr Omondi.
Last year Ulumbi Secondary School recorded a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) mean score of 5.2, a negative deviation when compared to previous years.
To solve the school’s problems, the Board of Management (BOM) Chairperson Ms Elizabeth Oduol told members of the media that there would be a meeting to solve the issue.
“The board is assembling, and then we shall communicate with the TSC afterwards. We do not want to rate teachers only on the number of “A” grades they produce; instead, we are concerned with the overall growth of students. We will find a solution after the meeting,” said Ms Oduol.
Secondary school principals in many schools in the region have not received a warm welcome and have suffered the anger of parents in Homabay on suspicion of mishandling school resources and poor performance.
Many schools in the Nyanza region have also seen protests over poor results and calls for school principals to be replaced.
For instance, Dr Mbai Mized Secondary School in Homabay Sub-County saw parents protesting on Monday demanding the transfer of the school principal.
This led to a disruption of learning for two hours with learners missing out on their morning classes.
Parents blocked the gate and prevented the principal from entering the school.
This forced the school principal to immediately return home.
Parents lobbied the Teachers Service Commission to transfer the principal to another school.
The same situation was witnessed in many schools with Got Kabok Secondary School in Rangwe parents also staging protests.
St. Stephen Kirindo Mixed Secondary School in Mbita, Longo Primary School and Osure Primary School were not spared either with each witnessing a protest of its own.
Parents simply want results and do not wish to be associated with principals who record poor results.
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