NAIROBI MARCH 7, 2017 (CISA) – Bishop Maurice Muhatia, has called on heads of Catholic Private Education Institutions to eradicate bullying and other abuses in schools.
“In contemporary Kenya, we have been witnessing a culture that seems to condone and perpetuate abuses of pupils and students by peers or adults such as, bullying, corporal punishment, sexual abuse and harassment, sexual orgies, sexual perversion, violence, cultism, drugs and substance abuse,” stated Bishop Muhatia.
“With effective leadership, educational institution, can prevent, detect and respond to such evils before they ruin our young people,” he said.
The Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops Commission for Education and Religious Education was speaking today during the opening ceremony of the 3rd Annual Conference for the Catholic Private Educational Institutions Associations (CAPEIA) at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Nairobi.
The four day conference (March 7 – 10) is under the theme “Catholic Schools-Hubs of Integrity” and is being attended by 450 delegates from all over the country.
Bishop Muhatia further noted that the culture of silence against such evils is widespread and is one of the greatest reasons why such evils are gaining root in educational institutions and called on the school heads to empower their staff to care for their pupil and students.
“As leaders you need to constantly remind your staff that they are in a special position of trust and authority in relation to pupils and students and have a distinct responsibility to care for them, to promote their welfare and to protect them from any form of harm at all times,” said the prelate.
Speaking during the same event KCCB Chairman, Bishop Philip Anyolo said that Catholic Schools are unique due to the dual purpose of as centers of academic excellence and evangelization focusing on faith, values and traditions of the Catholic Church to the younger generations.
“Do all what it takes to facilitate faith values and character development of the young men and women entrusted to you by God, Parents, Church and State,” said Bishop Anyolo.
The conference will among other things; provide a forum for discussion on issues affecting Catholic Private Education Institutions and discuss the promotion of catholic traditions and identity in schools among.
CAPEIA was launched in 2015 and brings together nursery, primary, high schools, and colleges run by the Catholic Church in Kenya.
