The Kenya National Union of Teachers officials have called on the government to end banditry in the North Rift region to allow schools to reopen.
The First National Vice Chairman, Malel Langat, said the Government should consider changing its approach towards ending banditry in the region.
Langat said children and teachers were out of school after being forced out by attacks from bandits, saying years of unyielding fight against the bandits call for a new approach that would bring a lasting solution.
He said the deaths of military officers, including the Chief of Defense Forces, was a turning point in dealing with banditry in the region.
He said the soldiers were on a noble mission of inspecting schools that were to be renovated before they met their deaths, and that this calls for rethinking by the government on the best ways to end the menace.
“Too many lives have been lost over the years, and yet we continue to use the same approach. With the kind of attacks we have witnessed in the recent past, what is the fate of schools that have been closed, and where are the learners and teachers supposed to operate from?” he said.
Langat called for beefing up security by using local solutions to restore order.
Bomet Executive Secretary Desmond Langat said the reconstruction of those schools and strengthening of security should begin immediately.
Langat said this should be done in order to allow children to resume learning with the rest of their counterparts nationwide as schools are set to reopen early in May.
He said the banditry has led to rampant school dropouts, with the children joining banditry as a result.
By Kipngeno Korir
