Implementation of the ban of physical punishment in public primary schools in Kenya: A study across public primary schools in vihiga County.

Physical punishment and mental harassment as methods of managing pupil discipline in primary schools are currently unlawful in line with the Basic Education Act, 2013. However, despite the ban, by the year 2015 the status in Vihiga county was such that Emuhaya Sub-County had a higher rate of indiscipline cases where there were 833(53%) cases compared to 644(43%) in Vihiga Sub-County and 543(37%) in Hamisi Sub county. The objective of the study was to determine the extent of implementation of ban of physical punishment in Vihiga county. A conceptual framework consisting of implementation of ban of physical punishment as the independent variable and pupil discipline as the dependent variable were used. The results showed that the overall mean rating on extent of implementation of ban of physical punishment was rated 2.89, which translated to moderate ban in terms of implementation. The study concluded that the ban of physical punishment in Vihiga County and by extension in Kenya was only partially being implemented. The study recommended that ban of physical punishment be fully implemented in primary schools. The study findings are significant in informing the stakeholders in education, for example the Ministry of Education, Teachers Service Commission, learners, teachers, policy makers and members of school management boards that the ban on physical punishment and mental harassment is indeed being implemented and improving pupil discipline in public primary schools, and should be implemented fully.