Each of the teachers at Kavenye Girls’ High School is seen caning the girls one after the other/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 23 – A teacher at a high school in Vihiga County in Western Kenya has circulated a disturbing video in which four teachers are seen brutally caning school girls.
Each of the teachers at Kaveye Girls’ High School is seen caning the girls one after the other.
Three of the teachers are male.
The video shows the male teachers standing in a line each beating the girls and passing them over to the next teacher.
A fifth female teacher said to be senior at the school is seen sitting at a desk watching as if in admiration of the energy the teachers are using while caning the girls.
In the video, another female teacher is captured at the door of the classroom receiving the caned girls and sending them out with more beatings.
Some of the girls are seen writhing in pain and despite falling on the floor and crying, none of the teachers seems to care.
One of the girls is seen falling on her knees along the corridor before hitting her head on the floor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE_NcxUSrXI
The teacher told Capital FM News that heavy caning at the school has been a common occurrence that has disturbed him for a while.
“That has been going on for a while. The girls are helpless because if they try to raise their voice they are threatened and told we will kick you out of this institution,” he said.
“I took it because I thought one day I can be their voice. But I was caught between keeping quiet but I realised I had to let the authorities know what is happening here. This year it also did not stop, I have decided to let it out now.”
The source who has been a teacher at the school for some time, said he recorded the video last year just before the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.
He said he was moved by the level of recklessness of the school management since the caning took place under the authorisation of the headmistress.
He recalled incidences in which over 15 teachers were authorised to give each of the girls three canes during one session of caning.
“I was moved. The disturbing bit is that teachers do it under the instructions of the principle,” he explained. “It is still happening and especially if they sit an exam and they don’t perform according to her expectations.”
“They can be caned by about 10 or 15 teachers and each is doing three canes each. That is about 45 canes on someone’s daughter, it is heartbreaking,” the teacher sympathised.
He said the acts were especially being done by the teachers not employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
“Some of the teachers are not registered because they are not employed by TSC. So they do what they are told by the principal.”
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