Eyes on Magoha as call to bring back the cane stirs heated debate

The recent past has witnessed escalation of student indiscipline, forcing Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha to read the riot act: “Learners will not commit crimes and walk [away] scot-free,” the Daily Nation quoted him on Friday.

“If learners burn a building or do something wrong, they must be caned, hence need to give teachers power to punish them,” Prof Magoha said in Kisii County last week.

Three days earlier, in a strongly worded editorial, titled ‘Authorities must address student indiscipline now’, the Nation singled out cases of learners beating up and even killing staff, besides burning school property.

Apparently, student indiscipline is not a preserve of Kenya. In a trending undated video clip, Tanzanian president John Magufuli congratulates the regional commissioner of Mbeya for caning students who burnt down a school. But he also chides the official telling him he should have caned them more.

“It cannot be that we spend billions building classrooms and schools only for students to burn them down,” he fumed.

He went on to order the expulsion of forms five and six students – and disbanded the school board, accusing its members of laxity.

The president scoffed at the human rights mantra that has seen learners get away with upumbavu (stupidity).

“What human rights when learners torch school property that has been built with poor parents’ money – just because a mobile phone was confiscated from one of them?”

Wondering if human rights activists would rebuild the damaged property, Dr Magufuli ordered parents of the culprits to bear the cost of the destruction and jailing of the ringleaders.

Student violence

Corporal punishment was banned in Kenya in 2001, so all eyes will be on Prof Magoha as he goes about making good his threat to restore the cane. That notwithstanding, interviews by the Sunday Nation indicate the CS is not alone in his quest to restore the cane.

Mr Ken Bosire, a media consultant and father of four boys, quotes the biblical Book of Proverbs, which says, ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’. 

“We seem to have done that [spared the rod], because there was supposed to be a substitute for kiboko (the cane), which is strong counselling systems and strong parenting. All those are missing,” he asserted on Friday.

Describing parenting as the weakest link in child discipline, Mr Bosire accused parents of prioritising business over child discipline. Children are left in the care of ‘house managers’, with no responsibility to discipline them. They take care of their stomachs and clean them, but never infuse morals in them.

Mr Bosire blames parents for excluding the Church in child upbringing. “When I was growing up,” he recalls, "there was induction to church systems. You learnt other social values.”

Not so any more. He justifies the cane saying: “For every action, there must be a consequence. What systems did we have for these children?”

He blames teachers for student violence. Teachers who have fallen victim to student violence “were themselves exhibiting violence during their demands for the collective bargaining agreement. How then do they expect students to respect them? The mapambano mantra is what we’ve bequeathed them.”

He blames wholesale ban of the cane for rampant student violence. A few cases of excessive violence in administering the cane were used to demonise the cane. He advocates administering the cane through headteachers, with concern for what he calls benevolent management.

Parental disciplining 

Mother of one and a grandmother, Annie Waite, says the cane must start at home. “I deal with my children; if they are naughty, we sit and discuss, and where she needs a spank, I’ll spank. ”

Ms Raylenne Kambua, 24, an intern at Kenya Editors Guild, believes discipline cannot be achieved by force.

“It’s a choice, so, even if I’m beaten and I choose not to be disciplined, the cane won’t serve any purpose.”

However, she admits to the need for the cane in the current circumstances – but backed by counselling sessions.

Mr George Owuor, a parent, is unequivocal on the need for caning: “The Bible says so. There would be no need for it in schools if parents took the lead in wielding the cane on their errant children."

Clinical psychologist Gladys Mwiti says in her book, Parenting with Purpose & African Wisdom that children actually expect parental disciplining.

“Because if my parents really love me, they will guide me on how to live and discipline me if I don’t behave as I should," she quotes a boy in a survey she did.

The writer is a consultant Revise Editor at the Daily Nation