Issues on students' safety in secondary schools in Kuria West District, Nyanza Province, Kenya

Abstract

Management of students' safety in schools has been an uphill task for most secondary school managers the world over. Lack of safety in schools is traced to the year 1261 and has continued to be a challenge today. This study aimed at establishing issues on students' safety in secondary schools in Kuria West district; Nyanza province. The objectives of the study were to establish the status of student's safety in secondary Schools in Kuria West District; assess the implications of lack of safety to students' learning process; explore ways of overcoming the challenges to the students' safety in secondary schools. The target population was 4126. To achieve this, the study adopted a descriptive survey in which all the 9 out of the 15 secondary schools in Kuria West District were purposively sampled. All the head teachers in the sampled schools were selected for the study and simple random sampling techniques used to select 180 out of 2937 students.

The study then used systematic sampling technique in getting 3 teachers in each of the 9 sampled schools. 27 teachers out of 156 were selected from the 9 schools sampled. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect data which were then administered. Data was analyzed using frequency distributions and percentages. The study established that even though majority of the schools reported not to have experienced violence, there existed some form of violence for instance bullying which come in many forms, beating and severe punishment. Social ostracism existed in schools though majority of respondents (59%) indicated no existence.

The study established that though lack of safety in schools did not directly result to student dropping out of school, it impacted negatively on the performance of students. The challenges the schools faced in dealing with implementation of school safety was lack of funds to purchase of safety equipments and ignorance among the students on the safety issues in the schools. The study, therefore, recommended that' the government allocate more resources to the schools for the purchase of safety equipment. The study further recommended that the schools enforce the school rules and regulations to curb violence such as bullying in schools. Safety education should be stepped up in schools to remove ignorance among the students.