The clergy from Migori county have called on the Ministry of Education to urgently restore the full active role of institutional sponsors and pastoral care programs to combat the escalating wave of school unrest and arson gripping the country.
Speaking during a consultative forum in Migori, the clergy expressed deep concern over the frequent fires in learning institutions, describing the current situation as an embarrassing national crisis that demands immediate stakeholder intervention.
The Presiding Bishop of the Zion Assembly Church of God, Joshua Amara, pointed out that the sidelining of churches who historically founded and sponsored most schools alongside early missionaries has left a massive vacuum in student discipline.
“What we see in schools today does not depict the character of a church because the sponsor’s role has been systematically displaced,” Bishop Dr Amara stated.
“The ministry needs to revisit these fundamental areas. Children are no longer getting a proper education; they are getting something fractured and disunified.”
Dr Amara further laid blame on parental indulgence, warning that a breakdown of foundational morals at home has translated into unruly behavior in classrooms.
He noted that modern overprotection and unchecked exposure to social media platforms have severely eroded values.
“Discipline needs to begin at home. Some parents modernly worship their children, making them untouchable kings and queens who rule households. When they bring that indiscipline to school, it manifests in riots,” he added, urging for a structured return of mental and ethical discipline without necessarily reverting to abusive corporal punishment.
Care and discipline
Apostle Godfrey Ololo, the Apostolic Overseer of Christ Heritage Ministries in Migori, emphasized that active pastoral care units within learning institutions are vital for steering youth back onto the right spiritual and moral paths.
“There used to be robust pastoral care where students were actively guided biblically. Major institutional sponsors like the Catholic Church, Anglican, SDA, and AIC played key roles in molding character, but today, it feels like their clothes have been stripped off,” Apostle Ololo remarked, calling for the immediate stationing of dedicated chaplains in every school.
Jojo Boyo, representing the House of Grace Church in Migori, revealed that efforts by voluntary organizations to run mentorship initiatives like the “Talk to Me” program are currently bogged down by administrative requirements.
“When we approached local education offices to offer pastoral care and talk to these students who desperately need someone to listen to them, we were informed that permission can only be granted via an official clearance letter from the Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Education in Nairobi,” Boyo explained.
He urged the government to decentralize this process to allow spiritual mentors rapid access to distressed students, emphasizing that “force and intimidation alone will not instill education or peace in their hearts.”
National leadership and collective accountability
The clergy also linked the ongoing chaos in schools to a broader moral decay and political toxicity visible across the country’s national leadership.
Bishop Martin Alaloya of the Jesus Fellowship Ministry in Homa Bay argued that children are merely mirroring the bad behavior, political fighting, and lack of transparency displayed by adult leaders and politicians.
“The country is in a mess because this fighting is everywhere, not just in schools. When politicians are fighting among themselves, abusing each other, and behaving lawlessly, how do we expect our children to walk in a good way?” Bishop Alaloya questioned.
Bishop Alaloya also strongly condemned the common administrative practice of punishing the entire student body financially for the actions of a few rogue individuals.
“When authorities know exactly which students are burning down buildings but force innocent parents and students to pay for the damage, you are inciting those innocent children to revolt tomorrow because they feel targeted by injustice,” Alaloya warned.
The religious leaders concluded by demanding that President William Ruto’s administration to convene an urgent national stakeholders’ convention featuring education officials, security heads, parents, and church leadership to address the spiritual, economic, and political root causes of the crisis before the entire education sector collapses.
