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{
    "id": 801445,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/801445/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 57,
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    "content": "raped. To illustrate how rampant sex crimes have become, a Principal from a secondary school in Kitui was yesterday charged with raping a Form Four student. Another case was reported at Moi Girls Kamusinga School, where a 14-year-old girl was raped just before the school morning parade. You may recall that not so long ago, about 18 students were impregnated in a school in Mt. Elgon Constituency, Bungoma County. There have been other cases of molestation and defilement of boys and girls, alike. This begs the question as to whether our children are really secure, even as we send them to boarding schools and day schools where they walk from home to school and back. It is reported that several teachers have been deregistered by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in the past years for sexually harassing students. This is a worrying trend, where persons who are entrusted with protecting our children become the perpetrators of sex crimes. This only goes to show how the morality of our nation has sunk low. Madam Temporary Speaker, a national conversation on the safety of learners in schools is something that needs to be convened urgently and should not be overlooked because this issue signals a crisis that need to be addressed. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology needs to be more proactive than reactive to this issue and ought to come up with effective and sustainable solutions to curb this menace. It is not sufficient for the school board to be dissolved or the teachers suspended or the surrounding area to be cleared and secured. We demand more from the Ministry, the law enforcers and the courts of law. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology should move with speed to ensure that:- (1) The learners are equipped with skills that they can use to defend themselves when caught up in such a situation. (2) CCTV and alarm systems are installed within and outside the perimeters of the school. (3) Proper lighting is done for ease of movement during early morning or evening prep time. (4) All security guards posted in schools should undergo vetting and mandatory training on disaster management. (5) Regular checks on the surrounding environment should be done. The fences of a school should be managed and if possible, perimeter walls erected in all schools. (6) The Government should provide funds to implement al the safety measures in all schools. (7) Psychosocial structures should be put in place to ensure that learners’ mental health is taken care of. (8) The code of conduct for all staff members in learning institutions should be reviewed. Madam Temporary Speaker, justice must be served to all victims of sex crimes. The Government should provide further training to all officers handling sex crimes to seal all loopholes that often lead to perpetrators of these heinous crimes going scot-free and, in some instances, being handed lenient sentences. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}