Phase out boarding schools, KUPPET tells government, as teachers complain of increased workload

EMBU,Kenya, Sep 12 –  Coupled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the pressure to ensure students recover lost time, teachers are said to be under immeasurable pressure and now the Kenya Union of Post Primary EducationTeachers (KUPPET) is calling on the government to facilitate the progressive ‘phase out’ of all public boarding schools in the country.

During a meeting with union delegates from Upper and Lower Eastern Regions in Embu, KUPPET Secretary-General Akello Misori said that the time has come for the government to implement the move.

“This is the conversation that all stakeholders and policy makers must start engaging in…. it will also go a long way in limiting cases of insecurity in schools,” said Mr. Missori.

The union argues that the situation in boarding schools has become more complicated for teachers as they are forced to clock in more hours in order to cover lost ground in a bid to complete the syllabus this despite there being no additional pay for working overtime.

KUPPET officials further likened the difference to teachers in day schools who do not usually work past the designated working hours as stipulated by the ministry of education.

“It is wrong to ask teachers to stay longer hours than usual yet you don’t get them means to go back home or give them them an allowance for that matter,” Said KUPPET Chairman Omboko Milemba.

Ealier this year, KUPPET, had also championed for the same cause urging the Ministry of Education to consider abolishing boarding schools as they are a contributing factor to indiscipline among students.

This came in the wake of arson case in school as well as attacks on teachers perpetrated by some students.

“All these things we are seeing in schools will not be there if we only had day schools. It is high time the Ministry of Education planned on how to phase out boarding schools the same way caning was phased out. In fact, there is no relationship between boarding schools and learning. Learning is just learning and education is just education,” Milemba said in January, 2021.