Try harder to end bullying

A report by the Ministry of Education on the high incidence of bullying in schools just confirms what has all along been known about this menace.

Some of the incidents have resulted in death, but the problem persists, defying the strict enforcement of the policies to make the institutions safer for all learners.

Even more disturbing is the news that Kenya has been ranked among the African countries where the vice is prevalent.

This dubious distinction has thrust the country into a veritable list of shame. In 2017, the US Centers for Disease Control led a survey that established that Kenya is among the worst countries in this regard.

Also, according to the National Education Sector Strategic Plan 2018-2022, some 57 percent of all students are bullied on one or more days in a month.

It is one of the really serious problems, including drug abuse, teenage pregnancies and disappearances linked to recruitment into extremist organisations that schools have to grapple with today.

Not long ago, the entire country was stunned by the news of a 15-year-old Form Two student who was brutally assaulted in a Nairobi school and suffered brain damage. It brought to the fore the grim reality of this widespread vice.

Worse, the culprits were prefects, bringing to scrutiny the glaring inadequacies of a system that has over the years complemented teachers’ efforts to enforce discipline.

Another heart-rending incident was the reported suicide of a 14-year-old girl after she was humiliated by her own teacher in front of her fellow students for soiling her uniform during menstruation.

In other research, the African Mental Health Foundation found that secondary schools experience high levels of bullying that affect self-esteem and individual academic performance.

Of the 1,012 students interviewed in public secondary schools in Nairobi, last year, between 63 percent and 82 percent said they had suffered one form or another of bullying.

The majority said their belongings had been snatched by classmates or seniors. Others complained of being beaten up.

Besides deaths or horrific injuries, bullying can also drive students into missing classes, avoiding school events, playing truant, or worse, dropping out.

It is, however, possible to stamp out the vice if the education officers, school heads, other teachers, non-teaching staff, the students themselves and parents fully collaborate to fight it.