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Kwale Governor calls for parental support in teaching Islamic Education to curb social vices

Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani. (Photo: MUHURI)

By Lucy Mumbi | 17 Mar 2024

Residents were also urged to use the ongoing Muslim fasting month of Ramadan to embrace the virtues of love, peace, and unity.

Parents have been urged to support teachers in teaching children the importance of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) to curb prevailing and pervasive social vices such as drugs and substance abuse.

Speaking on Saturday in Msambweni sub-county, Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani observed that parents have not been offering their children the necessary support and guidance required for their proper upbringing and growth.

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Fatuma attributed the decline in moral values among young people to inadequate parenting, emphasising that many parents have delegated their parental duties to domestic helpers and teachers.

“I want to encourage all the parents to fully support our teachers in these Islamic centres. The teachers play a vital role in imparting Islamic education, which serves as the foundation for moral and spiritual teachings for our children. Parents should strive to raise morally upright children,” she said.

According to Fatuma, IRE serves as the foundation for moral and spiritual teachings for students to grow into responsible citizens.

“Parents and guardians need to nurture their children into responsible people as they grow before they regret the consequences of their bad behaviour. Quality religious and secular education will not be realised without inculcating moral and ethical values in students for them to grow into responsible citizens,” she said.

She said the rate at which local youths and some adults were engaging in drug and substance abuse, criminal activities and other social vices was deplorable.

Drug and substance abuse

The governor called on the area residents to prioritise the upbringing of their children saying the high rate of drugs and substance abuse in the coastal region was to blame for the rising cases of domestic violence.

She urged parents to spend quality time with their children and create room for open communication to enhance child development.

“Parents need to take care of their children properly and be conscious of what is going on around them. They need to address their challenges and pay attention to their needs to enhance their holistic development,” she said.

She added that she will work closely with Islamic stakeholders across the county to boost IRE in Kwale.

Additionally, Fatuma decried cases of defilement, child marriages, teenage pregnancies, and gender-based violence in the coastal county impacting negatively on society.

She said that it was imperative to guide the girl child from the early stages in life especially now that the moral fabrics of the society had been torn apart.

Residents were also urged to use the ongoing Muslim fasting month of Ramadan to embrace the virtues of love, peace, and unity.

“As we mark this spiritually rewarding fasting season we should embrace love, togetherness, and spiritual devotion,” Fatuma said.