Parents seek decriminalization of homeschooling in court
Silus Shikwekwe Were and Onesmus Mboya Orinda have moved to court seeking an order for homeschooling to be recognised as an alternative system of education.
Arrested
This comes after Mr Were was arrested together with his children and charged in Butali, Kakamega County for relinquishing his duty to enrol the children in a school.
“The arrest, questioning and the incarceration of the children was illegal and in violation of the children’s right. Such measures could only be effected as a last resort,” said Were.
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Based on the Kenyan Constitution Basic Education Act, a child should be registered in a public or private school. This limits the ability of the parent to impose home schooling on their children.
About the petition
“The non-recognition of home schooling as a form of education which guarantees a child’s right to education contravenes the rights of children who may opt for this system of education as well as the right of the parent to determine a cause that would take care of the child’s interest,” the petition says.
“Consequently, the classroom is transformed into a detention facility which subjects a child to mental torture thereby limiting and or inhibiting the full development of the child,” it further states.
In the sworn affidavit, Mr Were also argues that there is no proof that home schooling compromises a child’s right to education. He also claims that many parents in Kenya have chosen home education in a bid to bring out the best from their children including exploiting talents that are overlooked in school.
Homeschooling is a system that involves educating your child at home and different other places apart from school. The system has been adopted Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, United States among other European countries.
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