Report reveals shocking details of bullying in schools
A report by the Ministry of Education has laid bare shocking details of bullying in schools saying it needs to be addressed.
The Ministry describes bullying as a form of violence in schools noting that in 2017, Centres for Disease Control (CDC) led collaborative surveillance survey ranked Kenya among countries with the highest level of bullying.
“At the national level, bullying in schools in Kenya stands at 57 percent for students who are bullied on one or more days in a month,” reads the National Education Sector Strategic Plan for the period 2018 – 2022 which was unveiled on Wednesday by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha in Nairobi.
The report also details wanton destruction of school property and loss of lives that have been witnessed in Kenya.
“In 2016 alone, close to 120 cases of school arson were reported,” reads the document. The document adds that school children in Kenya are increasingly being targeted by elements bent on radicalising the country’s youth.
DISAPPEARANCES
“The country has been experiencing increasing cases of disappearances as well as arrests of school going children linked to extremist organisations,” it states.
Some of the factors the government says is fuelling school violence and extremism are heavy school work, peer pressure, lack of skills on the part of teachers and school administrators on early warning signs and detection, as well as ineffective guiding and counselling support services.
The report also indicates that on average, drought affects an estimated 250,000 school age children and 8,000 teachers annually, to varying severity levels.
The report also indicates that child labour is still rife and rampant in Kenya today and blames it on poverty, ignorance, cultural practices and exploitation.
“Estimates show that there are 1.9 million child labourers in Kenya representing 17 percent of minors in the country with a majority being aged between 5-17 years. The agricultural sector is the leading employer of minors in Kenya followed by the domestic sector. Close to 82 percent of the domestic workers are girls from rural areas working in urban centres,” observes the report.