On July 14, 2024, the BOM and parents of Isiolo Boys’ High School took a clear stand against TSC by barring a newly appointed principal from accessing his office. This succinct action comes on the back of collapsed agreements between the stakeholders in the school and the TSC.
The ironic characters in this entire skirmish are the chairman of the BOM, Mohamed Boru; Ismail Ali Galma, chairman of PTA; and MCA for Wabera ward, Salesio Kiambi. They have ganged up against the new principal, terming him irresponsible and having a cheerless record.
The school’s board and parents are now claiming that the newly appointed principal has a history of absenteeism and poor academic performance in his previous postings, arguing that his appointment would undermine whatever was made by the former leadership. They have therefore barricaded the principal’s office, vowing not to allow him to assume duties until a more suitable candidate is posted.
What worries the parents and members of the board, however, is time, a few months to national examinations. The outgoing principal and his deputy had had major involvement in the preparation of Form Four candidates, and removing them at that point greatly inconvenienced students in terms of academic progress.
Other accusations leveled against a commissioner in the TSC and a local politician are for allegedly interfering in the school’s affairs. These are stakeholders who say arbitrary transfers of effective teachers are made to accommodate those with tainted records in discipline at the expense of the school’s performance.
The Bom and PTA have threatened to escalate their protest if what they want is not attended to. They have threatened demos and petitioning higher authorities to have their grievances addressed to. There is unity in the community in terms of protecting the interests of the school to remain on its recent improved academic path.