By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with HILTON OTENYO
Published on 2024-01-18 15:04:34
The learning environment at St. Gabriel’s Isongo secondary school in Mumias East constituency has been severely impacted by recent events. The Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) has transferred all 17 teachers at the school, causing disruption to the education of the students.
This transfer occurred following an incident in which angry parents forcibly removed the school principal, David Wanjala, and the Director of Studies, Godfrey Masibo from their positions. The parents cited “poor results” in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams as the reason for their actions.
In an effort to resolve the situation, education officials engaged in a meeting with the school’s Board of Management (BOM) and representatives of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) for a significant portion of the day. Mumias East subcounty director of education, Boniface Ouko, stated that the school is now under the control of the BOM and teachers hired by the board, pending further guidance and direction.
Ouko advised parents to remain patient as discussions are ongoing to find a solution. Ministry officials are also planning to meet with TSC CEO Nancy Macharia to discuss the way forward. County TSC Director Margaret Kinyanjui declined to comment on the matter when approached for a statement.
The school also experienced unrest when area MP Peter Salasya attempted to address an unrelated issue during a visit to the school. The MP was met with resistance when he tried to intervene, and he eventually left the premises.
The initial conflict arose the previous week when parents and bodaboda operators forcibly removed the principal, citing a decline in education standards during his tenure. They pointed to a significant drop in the mean score of the school and poor performance in the KCSE exams as evidence of their concerns.
The unrest has caused a great deal of disruption to the learning environment at St. Gabriel’s Isongo secondary school and has left the community in a state of uncertainty about the way forward.
Read the original article on The Star
