As thousands of students prepare to join form one next week after successfully completing primary school education last year, top on their mind as they enter their new learning environment is the question of bullying and how it will affect them in the next few months.
Bullying is as old as education itself and the menace has been with us from time immemorial but it is encouraging to note that it has decreased over the years mainly due to government efforts to deal with it firmly.
In its worst form, bullying has resulted in serious physical injuries and at times in death to 'poor' form one students who's only crime was being a 'mono' or 'rubble' as they are called by their fellow students in higher classes.
The bullying culture has been worse in national schools over the years and this was as a result of the colonialists, who's children beat up African students who joined these institutions to show them that they were not equal and it was a big mistake for the Africans to join the national schools then dominated by Europeans.
A good case in point is Lenana school, formerly called The Duke of York School. When I joined the institution in 1983, bullying was part of life and a day hardly past without serious physical beatings from other students let alone prefects who had the powers to beat you up and then send you to the head teacher for further punishment.
The situation got so bad that at one time, a form five student assaulted me to the extent that I had to be admitted to hospital while the culprit continued with his studies unabated as if nothing had happened. At one point I was electrocuted using an electrical cable meant for an electrical kettle.
On seeing the school authorities were doing nothing much over the issue, my parents decided to press charges in court where the accused was found guilty but was let off with a light probation sentence by the corruption infested legal system of the day.
The following year, things changed dramatically as a new headmaster, one Mr Maneno was posted to the school and physical beatings almost ended overnight with those caught assaulting form one's being dealt with harshly. Many students were actually expelled.
To date, students at the school tell me that bullying still exists but in very mild form and physical beatings are a thing of the past. What is common is the ridiculing of the boys who are sometimes told to imitate some prominent female characters or instructed to polish the shoes of their 'superiors'.
For many, bullying is considered as a way of initiating form one's to the new life of secondary school and also transforming them from boys to men and this is one of the reasons why the menace will not go away in a long time.
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Thursday, February 01, 2007
Kenya's Largest Teacher's Sacco Rocked By Sex And Looting On A Massive Scale
The Machakos teachers SACCO (savings and credit co-operative) is probably the largest institution of its kind in Kenya with a share capital of Sh 1.3 billion and over 10,000 members. This is hardly surprising when you realize that Machakos and Makueni districts (previously one district called Machakos) has the highest number of primary schools in the country. This SACCO was once considered a success story until a couple of years ago when everything started to fall apart.
Apparently, everything was going on well until the top officials got greedy and decided to indiscriminately 'borrow' large amounts of money from the society which they have not only refused to repay but are now milking the organization dry at the expense of teachers.
At the center of the scandal is the general manager Solomon Ngomo and his assistant Peter Kyelenzi who have amassed so much wealth over a very short period of time but have managed to fool the teachers by pretending to be deeply religious men and concealing their vast assets.
The duo who are form four drop-outs with Kyelenzi barely able to speak fluent English also stand accused of trading sex for jobs at the sacco where young pretty girls are hired every six months as casuals and can only have their contracts renewed if they hop into bed with the two top officials.
For those seeking permanent employment, the scenario is not any better, the interview includes liaisons with the boss at his second floor office at Mwalimu center which is complete with bathroom facilities and a bed.
Little wonder that majority of the employees at the sacco are pretty women including people's wives as the two top officials play the dangerous game of having affairs with married women.
A teacher who spoke to this writer on condition of anonymity said it now takes six months to have an application for an emergency loan processed with no guarantees that one will get the money.
Worse still, those applying for normal development loans have to wait for more than six months to have their forms processed and again there are no guarantees that you will access the money.
This has led to an exodus from the sacco with those members coming from Yatta and Masinga opting to join the Thika teachers sacco which is not only nearer to their work stations but offers efficient services and is much better run.
Numerous calls to have the sacco investigated have come to naught as the two officials use money to stifle any form of investigations including nosy journalists who are paid off when they start asking questions concerning the way the sacco is run.
The teachers are now moving out of the sacco after discovering that Ngomo has recently completed a Sh 30 million petrol station along Mombasa road and bought a new sports utility vehicle worth millions of shillings which he gave to his daughter as a gift after she graduated from Daystar university.
A popular Swahili saying says the days of a thief are forty and both Ngomo and Kyelenzi's 40 days are not up yet but the duo could be in for a shock and the beginning of the end for their errant ways could come this year when the government reigns in on errant sacco's. It is expected that the first step to doing this will be the passing of legislation to exercise more control on the way these societies are run.
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Apparently, everything was going on well until the top officials got greedy and decided to indiscriminately 'borrow' large amounts of money from the society which they have not only refused to repay but are now milking the organization dry at the expense of teachers.
At the center of the scandal is the general manager Solomon Ngomo and his assistant Peter Kyelenzi who have amassed so much wealth over a very short period of time but have managed to fool the teachers by pretending to be deeply religious men and concealing their vast assets.
The duo who are form four drop-outs with Kyelenzi barely able to speak fluent English also stand accused of trading sex for jobs at the sacco where young pretty girls are hired every six months as casuals and can only have their contracts renewed if they hop into bed with the two top officials.
For those seeking permanent employment, the scenario is not any better, the interview includes liaisons with the boss at his second floor office at Mwalimu center which is complete with bathroom facilities and a bed.
Little wonder that majority of the employees at the sacco are pretty women including people's wives as the two top officials play the dangerous game of having affairs with married women.
A teacher who spoke to this writer on condition of anonymity said it now takes six months to have an application for an emergency loan processed with no guarantees that one will get the money.
Worse still, those applying for normal development loans have to wait for more than six months to have their forms processed and again there are no guarantees that you will access the money.
This has led to an exodus from the sacco with those members coming from Yatta and Masinga opting to join the Thika teachers sacco which is not only nearer to their work stations but offers efficient services and is much better run.
Numerous calls to have the sacco investigated have come to naught as the two officials use money to stifle any form of investigations including nosy journalists who are paid off when they start asking questions concerning the way the sacco is run.
The teachers are now moving out of the sacco after discovering that Ngomo has recently completed a Sh 30 million petrol station along Mombasa road and bought a new sports utility vehicle worth millions of shillings which he gave to his daughter as a gift after she graduated from Daystar university.
A popular Swahili saying says the days of a thief are forty and both Ngomo and Kyelenzi's 40 days are not up yet but the duo could be in for a shock and the beginning of the end for their errant ways could come this year when the government reigns in on errant sacco's. It is expected that the first step to doing this will be the passing of legislation to exercise more control on the way these societies are run.
Search engines can give you huge traffic. Here's how a Kenyan company can get thousands of visitors to their site daily.
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