Teachers behind brutal punishment of pupil in viral video arrested
Nyamninia Primary School in Gem, Siaya County.
Two teachers at Nyamninia Primary School in Gem sub-county who allegedly assaulted a class eight candidate for failing to attain 400 marks, have been arrested and booked at Yala police station.
The two teachers will be arraigned on Monday to answer to assault charges.
In an amateur video circulated on social media, a school pupil is seen crying bitterly, with his body covered in bruises, as he vows not to go back to the school.
“It is better I stay without going to school, the marks that I scored are to the best of my ability. Why must I be beaten when I can’t attain 400 marks? We are really suffering, there is little food in the school,” lamented the pupil in the amateur video clip.
According to the child’s mother, this is not the first time the pupil is facing the wrath of the teachers.
“The first time I was informed of the heinous punishment that the learners undergo while in school, I was shocked; a teacher apparently teacher stripped my son naked and caned him in that state. Does it mean that, for the candidates to pass, they must go through hell?” said the distraught mother.
She also noted that other parents have also complained on many occasions over the punishment that the teachers impose on learners at the institution.
“Many parents have complained, the kind of punishment that the teachers impose on the pupils is inhumane. How will they pass if they are subjected to such treatment all the time? Teachers should teach and not beat learners,” she added.
Gem Sub-County Police Commander, Charles Chacha, said the two teachers will remain in custody till Monday when they will be arraigned before a magistrate court sitting in Siaya town.
The ministry of education outlawed corporal punishment in learning institutions and if found culpable, the teachers in question would face assault charges.
