Students from the Godoma Technical and Training Insitute in Kilifi on Thursday staged demonstrations outside the school premises demanding the immediate dismissal of the institution’s principal.
While protesting along the Kilifi-Matano Manne Road, the students accused the school administration of poor management and bad governance, particularly its decision to increase tuition and exam fees for all students.
The learners also lamented the poor meals provided to them and the inadequate healthcare facilities constructed by the institution to cater to the medical needs of most students who fall sick while undertaking their learning.
According to the furious students, their efforts to engage the school administration on critical issues affecting the institution bore no fruit, leaving them with no option other than to demonstrate.
Godoma Technical and Training Insitute in Kilifi
Photo
Comp Sols
The students also expressed their frustrations over the constant transfer of teachers from the school to other colleges, a factor which they said immensely derailed their motivation to learn.
“The school administration has not been fair to us, teachers are being transferred often and we have been at home for the whole term without learners but when we came back, they informed us that there were inadequate teachers in the institution,” noted one of the protesters.
“Teachers are being forced into a transfer without their consent, a teacher who teaches electrical engineering has been transferred to teach automotive engineering, there are no laboratories,” the student added.
During the heated protests, the students barricaded the Kilifi-Matano Manne highway, forcing motorists plying the road to seek alternative routes. They also held placards and twigs to express their frustrations.
In the footage that has since circulated widely on the internet, the learners were captured marching along the busy road as they unanimously called for the resignation of the school principal who they accused of incompetence.
“We are just demanding justice, let the institution change its management. We call on the Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos to dispatch auditors at this institution so that a thorough investigation can be conducted,” the students demanded.
The demonstrations by Dogoma College students add to the number of protests witnessed among students in the country. Despite the government’s efforts to resolve the crisis facing most of the tertiary institutions, some of the problems are yet to be fully addressed.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba, 28 October 2024.
Photo
Ministry Of Education
