Joho warns teachers against crushing learners' dreams

Cabinet Secretary for Mining Hassan Joho has turned his attention from politics to education, calling on Kenya's teachers to reconsider disciplinary practices he said are pushing the country's most vulnerable children out of classrooms before they ever get a chance to realize their potential.

Speaking at a public engagement in Mombasa County, Joho drew on his own experience growing up in the coastal city under economically difficult circumstances, noting that institutional barriers — including fee-related exclusions, arbitrary suspensions and outright expulsions — had derailed the futures of many children who lacked the social connections or financial cushion to recover.

"A child who is sent home because of fees unpaid, or suspended for a minor infraction, may never come back," Joho said. "Teachers carry enormous power. That power should never be used to close doors."

Kenya's public school system has long grappled with dropout pressures tied to poverty. Despite government directives banning fee collection in public primary schools and guidelines discouraging student exclusions, rights groups and education watchdogs continue to document cases where learners are turned away over uniform requirements, outstanding levies or other informal charges that technically contravene Ministry of Education policy.

The Coast region, where Joho retains strong political influence, records among the higher school dropout rates in the country, a pattern linked to child labour in tourism and fishing sectors, early marriage and economic instability in informal settlements.

Joho urged school administrators to exhaust every available option — bursary applications, community support networks and government welfare channels — before resorting to measures that remove a child from the learning environment. He also called on county education officials to enforce existing protections more rigorously.