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End Feud On Schools, DP Urges Catholics
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- Published on Sunday, 22 July 2007 23:57
The Shadow Education Minister, Mr. Matu Wamae, accused the Government of highhandedness in the saga, where five schools have not opened, two weeks into this term.
At the same time, the Nyeri Catholic Diocese yesterday accused the Ministry of Education of frustrating it in the running of schools they sponsor.
According to Fr John Gathungu, who is in charge of education in the diocese, and his immediate predecessor, Fr Muturi Njuguna, ministry officials have for a long time sidelined them in an effort to control the schools' management.
Fr Gathungu said the ministry no longer follows the Education Act and does not involve them in most of the decision-making on problems affecting the schools.
Mr. Wamae said: "Consultation is absolutely necessary, since students and parents are suffering. The ministry and the church must agree to open the schools as they seek a lasting solution."
The church called on parents and students of the Kisii schools not to report back after the December holidays until the Government transferred the heads of the institutions.
The church says that Cardinal Otunga High School Mosocho, St Paul's Amasago, St Augustine Otamba, Sengera Girls and Rangenyo Girls have been mismanaged by their head teachers.
He added: "Whereas we do not say that various churches have their worshippers as heads of institutions they have sponsored, we would want to see a situation where dialogue prevails in place of arrogance and highhandedness."
He said one should head an institution according to his or her ability to deliver.
The MP said the ministry must consult sponsors when deploying head teachers, especially in schools which the sponsor feels are mismanaged.
He said religious leaders were not interfering with the running of the institutions. He told the ministry to stop imposing head teachers on schools where they have already been rejected by both parents and sponsors.
Education Minister Kalonzo Musyoka dismissed the call by the church and ordered the re-opening of the institutions.
Meanwhile, the Justice and Peace Commission said it supports the decision taken by the Kisii diocese.
The Commission's chairperson, Ms Severina Waititu, said the schools were closed so that investigations could be carried out without interference.
"Our joy is to ensure that the schools we sponsor are run well. But our efforts to correct the anomalies in these schools have not yielded any fruits, thus the drastic action," she said.
In Nyeri, Fr Gathungu said the ministry no longer follows the education act and do not involve them in most of the decision making on problems affecting the schools.
"We have noted that whenever we complain of poor performance of a particular school because the headteacher is corrupt or inefficient, the education officers only says that they would look after the matter and do not act," the priest said.
He added that such a headteacher ends up in being retained at the school and the education standard is apparently affected.
The two priests who were addressing a press conference in Nyeri Town, however, said they have realised the school heads have been bribing their way to get into their positions.
They then collude with the education officers to swindle school funds and the matter is concealed since the sponsors are isolated when it comes to discussing such an issue.
Fr Gathungu said the dioceses have felt so frustrated because whenever they complain that an individual is a non performer the ministry officials tells them "where do you want us to take the headteacher"?
This according to the priest usually brings tension between the community and the government where the former blames the sponsor accusing him of not helping them.
"The community trusts the sponsor and comes to express their solace to him. But we find it hard to ease the tension because the ministry on the other hand frustrates us by not including us in any decision making," the priest lamented.
For Fr Gathungu the recent revelation on the problems facing schools in Kisii district is not news in the diocese.
"The matter only provoked us to say what we have been experiencing while we remain silent," Fr Gathungu said.
The diocese backs 142 primary schools and 58 secondary schools in its area, which have been among the best performing but of late they are declining.
The diocese also runs six private schools, which are ranked among the best in performance.
