Students nurse knee injuries after being ordered to crawl on stones

By Makena Valary

Five students are nursing knee injuries, after allegedly being ordered to crawl on a floor full of stones, by their Kiswahili literature teacher.

The Songoliet Secondary School students in Kapseret, Uasin Gishu County, saw the harsh punishment visited on them after failing to answer a question from a Swahili set book, ‘Bembea ya Maisha.’

One of the students said the teacher did not grant them a listening ear, despite their protests. They are all form two students. 

Finding themselves between a rock and a hard place, the five female students made the painful and difficult decision to crawl on stones, resulting in bruises and bleeding on their knees.

She described the punishment and the subsequent experience as agonising. "The teacher asked us to kneel and crawl on the stones. She didn't listen to our cries," the student recounted.

https://youtu.be/Hu3aG4uLoos

Outraged parents and human rights activists, led by Kimutai Kirui, camped at the school demanding justice.

They highlighted the illegality of corporal punishment in educational settings and called for the arrest and prosecution of the teacher involved.

One of the concerned parents expressed her shock after seeing her daughter return home with visible injuries on her knees.

"I was horrified to see what had happened. This kind of treatment is unacceptable," she said.

Students nusring knee injuries. Photo/MV

The students were treated at Chepkigen Health Centre, with parents filing complaints at the Cheptiret police post. Investigations are ongoing.

Efforts by journalists to speak to School Principal, Paul Maritim were unsuccessful.

The government banned corporal punishment in Kenyan schools in 2001 and enacted the Children's Act, which entitles children to protection from all forms of abuse and violence.

Data shows that teachers are aware of existing laws prohibiting the use of corporal punishment in schools.

However, their reasons for using corporal punishment included the belief that it was the most effective way to discipline children, and that parents had authorised its use.

 

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