Parents have been urged to take responsibility and nurture their children well. This comes after cases of teenage pregnancies skyrocketed during the national exams period, prompting questions from different quarters. Both teachers, parents and children have shouldered the blame with poor parenting and guidance highlighted. Speaking during the release of KCPE exam results in Mombasa, leaders said parents shouldn’t forget their responsibility. Education CS Amina Mohamed said it’s shocking that some parents allow children to go to discotheques and some don’t even know where their children are during the day, “You need to take responsibility for this children…it’s actually a total embarrassing situation and it’s a shame. We have let them down and we have refused to teach them and to guide them..” she said.
The CS said two months is not too long to take care of the children during this holiday period, and that the community should also bear the responsibility. “If we find children outside at a certain time it doesn’t matter whether it’s your children or not, if that child comes from your community send them home, and talk to their parents. Save them now it’s still possible to do that, in a few years it wont be posisble to save them, it will be late,” she said.
TSC CEO Nancy Macharia decried the current disaster of teenage pregnancies and that some teachers have been punished for their involvement in some cases, but reiterated that parents have relegated their responsibility to the teachers. “Parents are relegating every moral authority to the teacher, what is the teacher supposed to do? Yes they must also take that other part of a parent but what is the parent doing?” she posed.
On his part, KNEC Chairman Prof. George Magoha said some parents are irresponsible, and some children take advantage of that as a result, to the point that they sneak from home at night. He said it’s the parent’s responsibility to ensure they spend quality time with their children. So far, 32 teachers have been deregistered after their involvement in sexual relations with students according to TSC boss Nancy Macharia.