Kenya: Outrage at Amina Mohamed's Ban on School Visiting Days

Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed.
20 June 2018

Johannesburg — Kenyan exams have in the past been marred with rampant cheating. Teachers, learners and security guards have ended in court for their participation in these notorious acts.

In May, Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed announced that school found to have engaged in examination cheating will be deregistered and the culprits punished.

In an attempt to dis-empower these culprits, the cabinet secretary has ordered the ban of public events in schools, including visiting days, a move that has angered Kenyans. She says the move is meant to ensure that there is uninterrupted focus on students.

Only candidates will remain in school as the other learners close for the November/December holiday and she she will personally lead the teams monitoring the opening of examination containers across the country.

She has also urged school principals to guard against practices that might lead to exam irregularities, leading to the cancellation of results or deregistration of schools.

Here's what outraged Twitter users had to say:

Did Amina study 8-4-4 ? To know how hectic it is, and how freshening it is to be visited by family and friends to give you hope and morale to push on. - yung kemp (@Kempchacha)

Seriously? Dictatorship everywhere. Visiting is one way of checking on the kids and giving them moral support. That's the main purpose of visiting. What's wrong with kenya? Instead of dealing with the problem of rape, arson and other vices in schools now schools are prisons. - Calystus Murunga‏ (@MurungaCalystus)

Kenyan Education system separates parent from children, and the result is obviously corruption! - Mr. Harrison Karuga‏ (@harrisonthuo)

seriously retrogressive move. Visiting days should be increased not scrapped. Parents need to be more involved and available for their kids if we are to deal with the crises among our youth. - Pauline Mugure‏ (@pjmugure)

Bad move. Very bad move. We used to look forward to visiting day - it was great stress relief in a hectic education system. Kids are in their formative stage n they still need parents. Now the kids will be more stressed. - Mwaura Gichuru‏ (@mwauragichuru)

Unacceptable! Boarding school is often traumatic even with visiting days. So to add onto exam trauma, she wants to ban visiting days? Does she hate her own children that much so we should punish ours? Who annoyed you Amina that you would wish to isolate our children so. - VioAnne‏ @vioanne

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