The teaching profession is not noble anymore
Opinion
By
Ivyne Chepkorir
| Jul 01, 2026
The current wind of school unrest has pushed our backs against the wall and we have only two options: Give in or fight back. The bizarre incidents involving our children have still exposed our underbelly as a nation. We tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is the reason why we trade blame and never come up with a long lasting solution.
The blame game has gone in circles and has mostly left the teacher more injured than before. The teacher has become the punching-bag. Stones have been thrown by government administrators, politicians, parents and of course the students. The teachers are accused of being too young to mentor (Gen Z teachers), too hard on the children, too lenient, just to mention but a few. Are we really honest?
There was a time when the word “Mwalimu” was a brand. In fact, an honourable tag. Spread across our nation are homes known by the name “Mwalimu.” When teachers join the profession, they are told the profession is “a noble profession.”
When they join the profession and their dues are delayed, they are told teaching is “a calling.” A calling or not, you can concur with me that the nobility of the teaching profession has been slapped on the face by the very society that once elevated it.
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Teachers have been publicly disgraced. Sometime last year, a politician in Kisumu openly embarrassed teachers before an entire school community and threatened them. We have also seen how after the release of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, some communities have resorted to frog-marching the school principals for poor academic performance. Worse still, some parents talk ill of the children’s teacher with the children at home.
Punching-bags
Ironically, the humiliated and downtrodden teacher is expected to stand tall as a role model and midwife good academic performance and virtues from a child who is already highly contemptuous of the teacher. We expect that the teacher will miraculously command respect. How can a woman in labour fight the midwife but still expect to deliver safely?
We cannot spit on the faces of the teachers, make them our punching-bags and still expect good from them. Hasn’t the very essence of nature taught us something? You cannot expect milk from a cow that you keep on beating and shouting at. We can desist from attacks, uncalled for criticism and embrace the teacher if we want the best for our children and our nation.
Good remuneration, respect and positive criticism can go a long way to uplifting the teacher. In the hands of this teacher, lie destinies of children and ultimately the destiny of our nation. We can decide to look on the positive side and reward the sacrifices that teachers make daily to shape the tomorrow of our children and our nation.
Let us restore the glory of the teaching profession by ennobling the teacher. Consequently, our children can be mentored, nurtured and taught well to achieve excellence in every sphere of their lives. The future of a nation lies in the quality of education the children receive and this cannot be done without the teacher.
Ms Chepkorir is a teacher at Kanga High School