Female teachers the most disciplined

Teacher Rukiya Mohamed in class at Olympic Primary School in Nairobi on Monday, October 12, 2020. Education CAS Zachary Kinuthia has said female teachers remain the most disciplined in the profession.

Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Female teachers remain the most disciplined in the teaching population in the country.
  • By the close of 2019 academic year, 221 teachers had been suspended for varying misconduct and female teachers were the fewest.
  • The most prevalent accusations against the suspended teachers is desertion owing to substance abuse.
  • Government exercising zero tolerance for any act of sexual molestation either by fellow students or from those entrusted with their parental and intellectual development. 

Female teachers remain the most disciplined in the teaching population in the country.

Education Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Zack Kinuthia said by the close of 2019 academic year, 221 teachers had been suspended for varying misconduct and female teachers were the fewest.

“Only two were females who were to later vindicated and reinstated,” said Mr Kinuthia.

The most prevalent accusations against the suspended teachers is desertion owing to substance abuse. Female teachers feature at below one per cent. The other reason is sexual impropriety with students with female teachers accounting for zero per cent in primary school but ‘feature minimally’ in secondary schools.

Zero tolerance

Speaking in his Kigumo Sub-county village in Murang'a County, Mr Kinuthia said the government is exercising zero tolerance for any act of sexual molestation either by fellow students or from those entrusted with their parental and intellectual development. 

Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege, said she is seeking to introduce amendments in the Education Act to have Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers merged with the mainstream teachers in Murang’a.

“I am cognizant of the fact that more than 90 per cent of ECDE teachers in the country are women. We are grateful for the work they do to assimilate the very young into the education system and their work is more motherly than teaching…” she said.

Annual reviews

 Ms Chege said the few men in ECDE practice “are unique lot, father materials and who are worth national honours.”

She said if they were to be removed from management of County governments and put under the national government, their pay would be subject to annual reviews and scheme of service for the ECDE teachers and accord them a definable career progression path.

The MP said there we cannot talk of education in Kenya without first addressing its foundation in ECDE being the end bottom entry point where the nascent minds are readied for future curriculum years.

Mainstream faith

 Mr Kinuthia said more qualitative research will be conducted in all levels of learning institutions "especially in tertiary colleges and campuses, where allegations of sexually transmitted grades are rife.”

 "I am encouraged to realise that nearly 90 per cent of our female teachers/tutors subscribe to a known mainstream faith with 80 per cent proclaiming to be born again," the official said.

 He said while performance in learning institutions is not related to gender composition of teachers/tutors, the males should get very worried about emerging trends of their big numbers in disciplinary cases “as opposed to their female colleagues who have earned themselves an image of caring mothers, religious and disciplined.”