TRANSFORMATIVE STUDENT LEADERSHIP
Prof. George Chemining’wa, Principal of Turkana University College, gave a key note Address at Bishop Mahon Teacher Training College (TTC) students during the promulgation of the constitution of its students’ Council. He congratulated the Board of Management, Principal, lecturers and the teacher-trainees of Bishop Mahon TTC for collectively developing a constitution to guide the Students’ Council in running its affairs. Prof. Chemining’wa commented the strong partnership between Turkana University College (TUC) and encouraged the teacher-trainees to join TUC for their undergraduate studies once they complete their programmes at Bishop Mahon.
Prof. Chemining’wa then made a presentation on “transformative leadership with reference to student leadership”. He noted that transformative student leaders must influence, motivate and inspire fellow students; they must be strong role models, selfless, able to form strong bonds with fellow students and encourage independent thinking. Students’ council members should develop strong leadership egos, take calculated risks, work in teams, and always remain focused on the goal.
Prof. Chemining’wa urged the student leaders to exercise patriotism and national building. They should understand Kenya’s history and embrace cultural diversity, the national values, ethics and integrity. As young people,the students should learn leadership etiquette by demonstrating honesty, dignity and humility in the course of their work. He further emphasized that student leaders should learn and follow official protocol as they interact with the College management, fellow students and key stakeholders. To succeed, they should cultivate diplomacy, public relations, negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
Prof. Chemining’wa further emphasized that student leaders should be concerned about and responsible for the security and safety of fellow students. They should report and mitigate cases of violent extremism, understand basic first aid skills, deal with alcoholism and drug abuse among students, and promote peer counseling. As leaders, the students’ council members should sharpen interpersonal communication, develop good presentation skills and adopt best practices in managing meetings. They also need to develop strong partnerships, be the ambassadors of Bishop Mahon TTC and use the networks developed to mobilize resources for their courses. Further, he advised the student leaders to work closely with the Principal and management of Bishop Mahon TTC to achieve their vision and mission. He concluded that God is the foundation of leadership and therefore staying connected to God is critical to success.