A headteacher could be in trouble after photos surfaced online of pupils from his schools tied on a tree in an alleged punishement.
A team led by the Nyahururu Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Moses Muroki has been formed to probe the incident where the three pupils were tied to a tree as a form of punishment in Thiru Primary school, Laikipia West.
The photos of went viral earlier in the week eliciting anger from members of the public with a section castigating the school’s management for the punishment which they termed inhumane.
A section of Kenyans likened the punishment to the days of slavery where workers would be tied and forced to stand in the sun as a way of instilling discipline by their masters.
Reports indicate that the detectives have already been dispatched to the scene where an open investigation will be conducted. Other pupils and teachers are set to record statements and give their accounts of events.
The teacher responsible for the same has been identified as the school’s Deputy Headteacher, David Maina.
It is said that the three students had been absent from school without good reasons. They are also reported to have neglected their assigned duties.
The school’s headteacher Shelmith Thimba is set to be questioned together with her deputy Mr Maina before action is taken.
Earlier in January, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) vehemently opposed any attempt to reintroduce corporal punishment in schools amid rising cases of indiscipline.
The then KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion said the reintroduction of the cane would risk the lives of teachers, especially from “aggressive” teenagers.
“We will not accept the return of corporal punishment which will put our teachers in conflict with the learners. If they want to return it, let them post police officers to schools who will be doing the caning job because these teenagers are likely to kill the teachers,” said Mr Sossion.
Sossion further argued that indiscipline in schools was caused by parents absconding from their duties of instilling morals in their children.
This was after corporal punishment was banned in schools across the country.
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