There was a heated debate at the National Assembly on Wednesday as Members of Parliament (MPs) sought to justify the relevance a motion forwarded to introduce CCTV cameras in Kenyan secondary schools.
Some of the debaters in the House argued that the CCTV cameras would enhance security in the schools and help to curb cheating during national examinations.
"I support this motion of the CCTV and I support the fact that apart from that, we should look at long-term solutions and other factors that affect our students," stated nominated MP Godfrey Ososti.
Alego Usonga MP Samual Atandi supported the motion as well, adding that students also needed counselling to help them cope with recent cases of sexual assault.
[caption caption="MPs Mark Nyamita (L) and Samuel Atandi (R) rise up following a presser at Parliament buildings"]
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"Honorable Speaker, it is not a matter of having CCTVs only. We have to engage psychologists all our schools," MP Atandi suggested.
Other members of the house argued that CCTVs would be a waste of resources, seeing that it would be an expensive venture yet some public schools lack basic infrastructure.
"This motion has been precipitated by what is going on in our schools at the moment… the crime in our schools.
"CCTV is a good thing yes, but what is the priority? The priorities differ across the schools. There are some schools that do not even have laboratories. Some do not even have enough teachers," Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi told the House.
The motion was formulated soon after the alleged rape incident that was reported to have taken place at the Moi Girls Secondary School, Nairobi.
It further stipulates that the CCTV footage would be monitored and accessed from a central point to make it easier for cases to be reported to police.
[caption caption="A security officer at Nyangwa Boys High School illustrates how he monitors the situation on CCTV"]
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