Impact of the implementation of Wangai commmission report on student's unrest in Kenya: A case of public boarding secondary schools in Imenti South Sub-county, Meru County.

Abstract

Discipline is the epicenter of success of a school and members of a school are required to strictly adhere to various standards or codes of behaviour. Learning institutions in Kenya have been plagued with cases of students unrest and indiscipline. Student discipline is a crucial factor in not only academic achievement but also success in other school activities. School discipline is a great concern to the Government, school managers and administrators, teachers, parents, pupils and students, key stakeholders in education and the entire community. This study therefore, aimed at assessing the impact of the implementation of Wangai Commission report on students unrest: A case of public boarding secondary schools in Imenti South Sub-County, Meru County. The study objectives were: To examine the extent to which guidance and counselling affects student academic performance, to examine the role of stakeholders on students academic performance, to investigate the factors that hinder effective implementation of the task force recommendations on students unrest and indiscipline and to suggest strategies on how to effectively implement the recommendations on students unrests and indiscipline in Imenti South Sub-County, Meru County. The study was based on Albert Bandura’s social learning theory. The study employed qualitative research methodology. Imenti South subcounty has 20 public boarding secondary schools of which 30% of these were sampled, 20 Guidance and Counselling teachers of which 30% were sampled and 2030 students of which 10% were sampled. The sample population comprised 7 principals, 7 deputy principals, 7 Guidance and Counselling teachers and 203 form 3 students. The research instruments were questionnaires which were validated through piloting. The questionnaires were four sets mainly for principals, Guidance and Counselling teachers, deputy headteachers and students. The reliability of the study was testedthrough test-retest method. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically by arraging responses according to research questions and objectives. The data were then analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V.18). The results were then presented using tables and graphs .The research findings are of great use to parents, teachers, administrators, students and policymakers. Discipline has a direct relationship with performance in the schools by the students. It is concluded that effort has been made to implement the report of Wangai Commission, albeit to varying degrees and therefore, yielding different results in enhancing high levels of discipline and normalcy in the schools. The results also show that guidance and counselling as a pro-active method of ensuring good discipline in school has not been given due emphasis as some guidance and counselling teachers were not trained. The researcher found that other methods were used without factoring in the services of guidance and counselling. The researcher recommended that the guidance and counseling teachers operating without any form of training be taken through short courses on guidance and counselling in order to gain skills of efficiently executing their mandate. To ensure effective implementation of the Wangai Commission,on students discipline , monitoring and evaluation should be carried out by the Ministry of Education to improve discipline management in schools.