‘Mantšali Phakoana
When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers, so goes an ancient proverb of the Kikuyu people, a tribal group in Kenya.
The same rings true for pupils at Baking Primary School at Bela Bela in Berea district.
They have been caught in an unenviable position since 2022 when a teacher at the school, ‘Mantsane Lisene, was promoted to head the institution.
However, this did not reportedly go down with the then acting principal, Motumi Metsing, who had to revert to his position as teacher. A tiff soon broke out with some teachers applauding Lisene’s promotion while others felt Metsing should have been appointed substantive principal since he had served in that position for some time.
According to some parents who spoke to theReporter in separate interviews this week, the change of leadership at Baking Primary School has created tension among the staff and affecting pupils.
This has reportedly compromised the quality of education, with some parents forced to pull out their children from the school and enrolling them elsewhere.
“The tiff has now split teachers into two factions namely: Team Lisene siding with the principal and Team Metsing who are in support of the former acting principal.
“The prolonged war raging at the school is now threatening to wreck the school and pupils’ right to education is compromised,” one parent said.
So bad is the situation that some teachers are deliberately unavailing themselves or going to school only to boycott classes and all extra-curricular activities.
According to sources, the teachers’ absenteeism, disobedience to leadership and general behaviour towards school activities have left some parents with no choice but to withdraw their children.
The combined pre-school and primary school has seen enrolment declining from 305 to 75 pupils since the school was established in 2006, although this is not necessarily due to the current circus.
However, parents say they are concerned with the teachers’ continuous absenteeism which affects pupils’ education and mental health.
They called on the government to act swiftly and save the situation.
They also appealed to the ministry of education and training to investigate the teachers and take drastic decision.
‘Matankiso Lerata, a concerned parent told this publication that the teachers’ absenteeism was a major problem which affected the pupils’ learning.
Lerata said she pulled her two children from Baking primary to another school in January last year after realising that teachers were deliberately missing classes or just idle when they decide to report for duty.
“I noticed that pupils returned home without even attending classes for two to three days every week, because their teachers were not in.
“These teachers are being paid by the government, therefore we expect them to be committed to their jobs. They’re not doing that; instead they’re gambling with our children’s future.
“I don’t know the root cause of the fighting but what I know is that it all started with Mme Lisene and Ntate Metsing. My assessment is that the current principal is a hard-working woman, but unfortunately if the majority of teachers abandon their duties, she can’t handle it on her own,” Lerata observed.
Another parent who commented on condition of anonymity said her three children were stuck because other schools are very far. The children are in pre-school, Grade 5 and 7.
She noted that she witnessed a worrying tension and bad behaviour among teachers during a parents’ meeting last year when she went to collect her children’s school reports.
“Usually, I don’t attend parents’ meetings because I’m not always home. But last year I attended for the first time and I saw an unacceptable behaviour from teachers; they kept quiet when Mme Lisene asked them to brief us on the school uniform and food.
“It was embarrassing to see teachers ignoring instructions. The principal ended up doing it herself.
“That’s when I realised that our children were caught in between the squabble. It is worrisome that we are entrusting our children to people who can behave so unacceptably in the presence of parents,” she added.
Berea district education manager, ‘Malijane Selikane said her office was aware of the tension between Lisene and Metsing.
Selikane indicated that she was however not aware that the infighting – which has potential to compromise teaching and learning – involved teachers as well.
“It was reported to us that in 2022 after the upgrading process within the education department, there was tension between Mme Lisene and Ntate Metsing, who was then the acting principal.
“My office would get reports from the two complaining about the other. Mme Lisene claimed Ntate Metsing insulted her while he accused her of abusing him. I was not aware that the situation had escalated to the extent of involving other teachers.
“I advised them (Lisene and Metsing) to take their issues to the school board as it deals with the behavioural conduct of teachers. The board is in a position to hear such cases and take disciplinary action. Our role is to ensure that teaching and learning are not compromised,” she pointed out.
Selikane said the principal had not reported the worrying rate at which teachers were missing classes. The only incident her office was well aware of was of one teacher who has not been reporting to work for a long time now, she added.
A commission in the ministry of education and training was investigating the teacher’s conduct and if found guilty, she would be omitted from teaching list.
Selikane further noted that no school inspections had been done in the district this year due to lack of vehicles.
However, she stated that where in the course of inspection, a teacher is found to be incompetent, negligent or underperforming in carrying out his or her duties, an inspector may recommend demotion or dismissal of such teacher to the appointing authority, as per Section 19 (4) of Education Act of 2010.
Under the same Act, a principal is responsible for discipline of teachers under his or her supervision in line with the disciplinary code of conduct. A principal shall also ensure meaningful teaching and learning takes place at school.
Metsing was not available for comment this week as he could not be reached on his phone.
One of the teachers said the matter was brought to the attention of the school board but no action had been taken.
For her part, Lisene confirmed that there has been serious tension between her, Metsing and some teachers since her promotion.
She alleged that Metsing was not happy that she took the position and as a result, influenced some teachers to turn against her.
“I was hired as principal on August 1, 2022. Following that there were signs of dissatisfaction from the former acting principal (Metsing).
“He started influencing other teachers and they ganged up to disobey my orders. Now the situation has escalated to boycotting classes.
“They miss classes for days on end without reporting, and when they do come to school, they arrive late and just sit in one classroom without teaching or participating in any school activities, including guiding pupils in prayer, sports or any form of activity,” Lisene said.
She added that some parents had expressed concerns over the misconduct by the teachers and warned they would remove their children from the school if the stand-off persists.
Her efforts to bring the teachers to order had failed, including pleading with them to follow legal procedures if they were not satisfied with her being their supervisor, she indicated.
“Missing classes and ignoring my instructions is not one of the legal procedures. I have been talking to them trying to make them understand how important it is for them to do their job, but they never listened to me. I do not know the kind of people I am supervising,” Lisene claimed.
