KUPPET urges parents to seek better ways of consulting principals instead of evicting them

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers (KUPPET) has criticized the way some parents handle principals in their respective schools due to poor performance.

A number of headteachers across the country whose schools performed dismally have met protests and forceful eviction from their offices by some parents.

KUPPET Secretary-General Akello Misori said parents should consult with the teachers to know the root cause of the dismal performance instead of taking such rude actions.

“It is good that parents are concerned about the performance of their children in school. However when their expectations are not met there should be a feedback conference in school instead of invading schools and ejecting the principals as was the case in Amariba secondary and any other school that may have had the same scenario play itself out,” he said.

Misori noted that parents also have a role to play to achieve the desired performance.

“Good performance is a function of many things despite teachers having a central role to play. There are also issues to do with infrastructure and parental support that go a long way in determining performance,” Misori said.

“If you want milk from a cow you have to feed it with grass and water and also ensure it does not have ticks. It takes more than caning of the cow to get your desired milk ” he added.

Last week parents of students who sat their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) at Amariba Mixed Secondary School in Kisii stormed the school and forcefully tried to evict the principal, prompting him to run for his dear life.

The parents broke into the school compound on Wednesday, February 1 and ejected the Principal from his office and even assaulted him, threatening him to leave the school compound.

They claimed that the Principal had overseen a drop in the overall school mean score from 5.2 to 2.0 since taking over from his predecessor.

The parents claimed that the principal was focusing more on making money from the school bus and less on their children’s performance.

“The Principal only lends the school bus to ferry mourners to funerals while our school is lagging behind,” one of the parents said.

When Oriri refused to leave as requested by the parents, the irate parents carried leaves, singing war songs while approaching his car. They later escaped to Itambe Police station using his car.