By Johnson Chengo
Kilifi South MP Ken Chonga has initiated forums for engaging students, parents and teachers to curb indiscipline cases that lead to burning of schools.
Speaking in his office after disbursing a total of Sh28 million as bursary cheques to 3,000 students drone from Collage and Universities, Chonga said the unrest can only be controlled if parents and teachers change the approaches of addressing students’ wayward behaviours.
He said fires and unrest in learning institutions are mainly occasioned by broken communication links.
βSometimes these students have genuine concerns but they are using the wrong channel of addressing it and these are some of the issues that prompted me to form this initiative. I will be visiting their schools and have some conversations with them. On Tuesday (today) I will be visiting Bungu secondary school where I will have a one-on-one conversation with parents and form four students,β he said.
The legislature said it is through such engagements that some of their concerns will unearth.
Chongaβs input comes in the wake of some arson and unrest in Kilifi County.
In Ganze Sub-County, Ganze Boys’ secondary school dormitory was gutted by fire, leading to massive losses worth millions of shillings. The school management was forced to close the learning institution.
Other schools are Ngala Memorial and Mariakani secondary school in Kaloleni sub-county.
He noted, “Any change learning institution tends to initiate it should involve learners inputs before implementation.
βThese students need to be listened to, they need to be involved in some of the implementation but in most of the time they are ignored,β said Chonga.
The MP further said that some parents have led their children into being hardcore by standing with them whenever they commit faults.
βMy message to parents and teachers is to ensure our students whether in school or outside school, receive the best moral behaviours to mould them into responsible people. The responsibility of instilling discipline in a child is a collective concern, it cut across,β he added.
Kilifi South NG-CDF chairman Richard Mwambura said indiscipline and poor-performing students risk losing scholarship funds.
He vowed not to allow unruly scholarship beneficiaries to waste funds which would have otherwise helped other hardworking and needy students.
βOur priority as the committee is to better the education of our children and anyone found to be under-performing or has some cases of indiscipline definitely will cut off his or her scholarship. We will not sit back and watch this money thrown and wasted by lazy and irresponsible students,β said the chairman.
