KNUT CALLS FOR PEACEFUL ENGAGEMENT TO CURB STUDENT UNREST
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has called on students to uphold discipline and resolve grievances through dialogue amid rising cases of unrest in schools. Speaking in Kisumu.
KNUT urges students to embrace dialogue as school unrest cases raise concern. Photo/Courtesy
By Natalia Chepkemboi
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) on Sunday urged students across the country to maintain
discipline and use appropriate dialogue to address their grievances, as cases of unrest continue to affect
learning institutions.
Speaking in Kisumu, KNUT Deputy secretary general Hesbon Otieno said peer influence has contributed
to the increasing cases of student unrest, which have resulted in the destruction of school property in
several schools.
Otieno encouraged learners to present their concerns through student leadership structures and engage
school administrations through dialogue instead of resorting to destructive behavior.
‶The school calendar must proceed and go on uninterrupted so that we can have the calendar
completed at the end of the year. Students, we are calling you to style up, be the students you are
supposed to be. If you have anything you want to address, you have the student body in that school that
has been elected so that you can have dialogue with the leadership of the school,” He said
.
Children Services Principal Secretary Carren Angeng’o called on schools to adopt positive
communication frameworks between teachers and students to promote discipline and create conducive
learning environments.
She commended institutions that have established effective channels for communication and student
engagement, saying such approaches help resolve concerns amicably.
‶We have learnt here how teachers are engaging positively with the students. They have channels for
discipline and for communication. This is one thing that I want to add. Other schools should emulate in
terms of positive communication with the students, to create an environment that is safe for learning
and not an environment of discomfort,” the PS said.
The two officials spoke after attending a church service at Nyakach Girls High School in Kisumu County,
where they also addressed students on the importance of discipline and peaceful engagement.
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