15 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates have signed an agreement with the Education Ministry after teachers raised concerns over their conduct in school.
The class eight students at Kayuyu Primary School in Kiharu, Murang'a County were accused of being unruly and threatening teachers and other students.
Their school head forwarded their names to the Deputy Director of Education, Richard Ng'ang'a who summoned them alongside their parents.
The 15 students committed to good behavior, obey their teachers and the law. They also agreed to be held personally liable if they break the good conduct code.
"Some of them walk out of class at 10 am and loiter in the village only to return to school for lunch. We haven't witnessed any incident worth reporting but we had to take precautions.
"They signed the documents in the presence of their parents and the Ministry official. They shall be handed over to the police if they do not adhere to the agreement," a teacher at the school told the Standard.
This new form of punishment comes at a time when there have been heightened criminal activities in schools since the institutions reopened on Monday, January 4.
On January 13, a Form 2 student was arrested in Kitutu Masaba for allegedly attempting to hack his Deputy Principal with a panga. A day later, a 17-year-old juvenile was held for being in possession of a knife while in class in Kwale County.
Five days later, a Form Four student was apprehended for reportedly attacking a female classmate with a panga at Meneet in Bomet County.
At the same time, a grade 4 student in Kisii was also arraigned in court for reportedly attempting to poison her father who had questioned her relationship with her alleged Form 4 boyfriend.
"DCI (the Directorate of Criminal Investigations) would like to caution school going students to restrain themselves from engaging in criminal activities and instead focus on their education.
"Any form of criminal activity shall be met with the full force of the law, regardless of one’s status in the society," DCI cautioned.
