Kakamega Teacher Gifts Unkept Pupil Uniform Shaves His Head Instead Of Punishing Him: "Different Approach"

• Teacher O'kubasu Malik, known as The Rural Teacher, took an empathetic approach to neglected students instead of punishing them like other teachers
• Malik's efforts include clothing drives, infrastructure improvements, and educational support, significantly benefiting Emukangu KAG Primary School in Kakamega
• His latest agenda was helping a young boy who came back to school looking dishevelled; he bought him a pair of uniform and shaved his head

When the young boy walked into school looking unkept, teacher O'kubasu Malik, aka The Rural Teacher knew that he would have to step up and not punish him like some teachers do to such pupils.

Boys body exposed

The young boy's hair was too long, and his untucked shirt which was once royal blue, had since faded to near sky-blue.

His pair of shorts was torn on one side and exposed the upper part of his leg, which all made for a very untidy boy.

"Normally, a teacher would beat up such an untidy kid and send them home to shave and dress neatly. But my approach is empathetic and different. I go down to the level of these kids and understand why they would come to school on the opening day looking shaggy," Malik told TUKO.co.ke in an interview.

"Of course the devil is in the details; if you dig deeper you'll unearth parental gaps, lack of exposure, limited life's privileges, dysfunctional families, deceased parent(s), and alcoholism among other factors that lead to such drastic negligence. In my opinion, the best way to teach some parents responsibility is to practically transform their child so that they can see how the child is supposed to be presented," he added.

Malik has been teaching for 2 years

According to Malik, once it is done, he starts to administer guidance and counselling and this way, some parents learn and change for good.

Malik has been serving his school, Emukangu KAG Primary School Kakamega, for almost a year through online drives. He provides clothing and stationery for pupils from less fortunate backgrounds in the school he teaches.

Although he has only been teaching in the school for two years, Malik's influence has made a tremendous transformation to the infrastructure, enrollment and performance of the school.

"I have had a uniform drive that clothed 350 pupils. Through my friends abroad, two classrooms were constructed and launched.

"I am also the treasurer of an initiative called Dial A Pad that is funded by Lurambi Constituency MP, MCAs among other well-wishers, to provide free sanitary towels for schoolgoing girls in the entire Lurambi Constituency," he added.

Asked why he does all these, Malik answered that the most effective way of fighting poverty in a village/community is by educating the current and the next generation.

Malik says school is a safe space

"That's why I highly regard the education of these pupils who are my subjects. Giving uniforms and infrastructure has served as an incentive for them to attend school. School now feels like a safe space for them, and by default, they acquire basic education," he said.

"The question of; to what desired end? I'd say, I'm just trying to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, not because I'm expecting anything in return but because it's the right thing to do," he added.

Malik is also looking for more like-minded well-wishers who can help support these kids through secondary and tertiary education.

Most importantly, he is looking for organisations or persons that can help teach and fund the pupils and parents alike in various plant and animal farming methods and business ideas, among other vocational skills that can help them derive a livelihood and be self-reliant.

Kakamega teacher raises funds for stationery

In another story, Malik raised money to buy stationery for pupils who were having a very hard time in school.

According to the teacher, he was compelled to start the initiative after noticing that absenteeism was high in students lacking vitals because their esteem was battered.

He told TUKO.co.ke that whenever he went out looking for them, he would be moved to tears at just how poor their families were, so he chose to do something about it.