CHAOS AS PRINCIPAL IS FORCED TO WEAR SCHOOL UNIFORM.

Following the spate of incidents of students burning down schools, administrators have been forced to seek ways to contain the crisis and prevent further loss of property, learning time, and to protect students’ lives.

Principal Wilson Achoko of Barwesa Secondary School in Baringo has resorted to wearing a school uniform to create a perfect relationship with students in a show that portrays equality and humility.

Speaking on November 16, Achoko recalled that students burnt down the school in 2020 and that he had to find a way to relate with them, and wearing the school uniform was a perfect decision that helped to reduce the animosity.

“I decided to wear the school uniform because it makes the students much closer to me. Initially, students never came to the office. But when I started putting on the uniform, they became very close to me.

“I also decided to maintain an open-door policy, which makes them very free. They tell me all the issues they have, and it becomes very easy to solve them.

“When students see you come down to their level, they feel very happy and at peace,” Achoko remarked.

He disclosed that the fire in 2020 was a lesson to him and fellow teachers, as students knew about the plot but never tried to reach the teachers.

“Burning down of the school in 2020 was a wake-up call to me because I later learned that there were students who were aware that the incident was being planned, but they never reached out to us. That is when I knew there was a need to bridge the gap between the administration and the students,” he stated.

Besides the open-door policy and donning of school uniforms, Achoko stated that they introduced suggestion boxes to give the students a chance to articulate their grievances to the administration. These measures have aided to improve the mean score of the school as they are now ranked among the best schools in the region.

“The school has been doing very well. We have been performing so well and in 2020, we made history in Baringo by sending 21 students to the university,” he stated.

Achoko further called out other principals to follow in his footsteps to help tame the unrest in their respective schools.

Source: Lit Kenya