Questionable integrity of school sports in Kenya can be gauged from claims of fraudulent transfers of students from one school to another. In view of these developments, Mr. William Ojonyo, an alumnus of Kakamega School and a die-hard fan of their sporting teams, urged the Ministry of Education to take firm action against errant school managers who are facilitating the transfer of form four students for their selfish gains. This really calls for strict enforcement of student transfer guidelines to offer each and every student a chance to ensure fairness and focus on education.
Background
Ojonyo’s fears are informed by events that took place at Kakamega School, in which nine football players transferred to a rival school at the start of the third term in 2023, apparently flouting Ministry of Education guidelines. A complaint presented to the county education office by the school’s principal, Julius Mambili, in October 2023 fell on deaf ears. This is an indication of a wider problem of lax enforcement and probable complicity within the education system.
Fraudulent Transfers and Their Impact
Disregard for Guidelines
The case of the nine students transferred from Kakamega School shows clear disregard for the set guidelines on transfers. These acts, naturally, tend to kill the spirit of healthy competition not only in school games or sports but also fostering bad precedence for subsequent offenders. There has been no clear accountability or immediate measure instituted, which questions the relevance of the oversight mekanism in its current form.
Ethical Concerns
Ojonyo put a premium on the term ‘student’ as opposed to ‘player’ and warned users against building learners into professional athletes. The approach corrupts the focus of the student on education and general development. Not allowing the win-at-all-costs mentality to taint such values of education as teamwork, discipline, and health should be the guiding factor for engaging in school sports.
Calls for Decisive Action
Restoring Sanity in School Games
Ojonyo has asked the Ministry of Education to take firm measures to reinstate sanity in school games. It calls for investigating and penalizing school managers and officials involved in such fraudulent deals. These interventions are necessary for shielding the credibility of school sports and ensuring that any deviance never jeopardizes the student experience.
Accountability and Transparency
To effectively guide against these, the Ministry needs to enforce more stringent accountability and transparency measures. This comprises:
- Thorough Investigations: Institute thorough investigations on the fraudulent transfers report and take proper disciplining measures.
- Clear Guidelines: Ensure transfer guidelines are clear, well-communicated, and consistently applied.
- Monitoring and Reporting: This involves the institution of robust mechanisms for monitoring and reporting to detect future violations and prevent them from happening.
Recent Developments
Denial of Sanctioned Transfers
Hellen Nyang’au, the Kakamega County Director of Education, denied last week that any transfers were sanctioned between the two schools involved. The denial will not help solve the problem; it calls for an all-the-more scrupulous investigation to clearly establish the facts and bring to book those responsible in one kind of misconduct or another.
Support for School Teams
Despite these challenges it does not deter community support for school teams. Ojonyo’s donation of new uniforms to the Kakamega School Green Commando football team underlines the fact that support for student athletes should be provided based on their education and personal growth.