Education crisis worsens as more schools close over student unrest

The crises in the education sector have worsened as the rapidly spreading wave of student unrest continues to cause deaths and major destruction of learning institutions across the country.

And the government is under the impression that learning will continue uninterrupted, even as some secondary school principals start to release students to go home, fearing the unrest.

On Monday, Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said there were no plans for unscheduled closure of schools for half-term. He said a paltry 0.8 schools were affected by the strikes. 

In the Rift Valley, five secondary schools, including national schools, were closed indefinitely yesterday, and students were sent home.

Kapenguria Boys High School in West Pokot County was closed following an incident where students set a dormitory on fire on Sunday, damaging property worth millions of shillings.

The fire also affected the mattresses store and part of the school library. 

However, the blaze was quickly contained, preventing it from spreading to other sections of the institution. No injuries were reported during the incident. 

The school principal, Moses Ndeda, said the students staged the protest while demanding to be allowed to go home. 

“The students were asking why they were still in school while other schools had already closed. We have since released them to go home. The fire was contained, although we are yet to assess the value of the property destroyed,” said Ndeda. 

In Trans Nzoia County, St. Brigid Girls’ High School in Kiminini and St. Joseph’s Girls High School were shut down yesterday after students demanded to be released to go home. 

According to Inviolata Lokorito and Rosebella Orwaru, the principals of the two schools, though there is calm in the schools, there is reported uncertainty with the management of high alert and monitoring the students’ behaviour. 

The county director of education, Pamela Akello, said they have allowed the students to go home. 

“We have allowed the girls at the affected schools to go home after they demanded to be released,” Okello told The Standard. 

Last week, St. Teresa Girls’ High School, Bikele, released its students to go home following tension in the school.

“The situation calls for a national discussion to establish the root cause of the learning disruptions,” said Eliud Wafula, the immediate Trans-Nzoia Kuppet chairman. 

In Nakuru County, over ten schools in Nakuru County and dozens more countrywide have been indefinitely closed over student unrest in the last week.

Yesterday, Jomo Kenyatta Boys High School was indefinitely closed after the students went on a rampage within the school under the cover of darkness. 

The students shattered a majority of the glass windows in classrooms, among other buildings in the school located in Bahati along the Nakuru-Nyahururu road.

The police managed to get the situation under control until sunrise, when the school administration held further consultations.

The incident comes days after a similar situation was thwarted at the sister school, Jomo Kenyatta Girls Senior School, last week. 

The girls were, however, released to their parents before they could cause any damage on the school property. 

At the coast, a total of 13 public secondary schools have been razed and 38 students arrested and arraigned in Taita Taveta. 

The latest fire attack occurred at Mwakichuchu Boys High School in Sagala Location, Voi Subcounty, where a dormitory was razed by unknown people last week. 

A total of five students were arrested and arraigned in connection with the fire inferno, bringing to 38 the total number of students so far charged in a court of law. 

Other schools that were closed include Kenyatta and Dr Aggrey Boys National Schools, Mwasere and Mahoo Girls, Challa High School, Moi Boys High School, Kiwinda Mixed Day Secondary School, and Timbila Boys, among others. 

Some affected schools have since reopened, with parents bearing the brunt of the total cost of the damages running into millions of shillings. 

For example, in Mwasere Girls, parents have been compelled to pay over 10 million, the total cost of the damage to the dormitory suspected to have been razed by rioting students. 

“Following our previous official communication concerning the extent of damage, the total damage costs by the Ministry of Public Works are estimated at Sh10,000,440, inclusive of blankets, bed sheets, metal boxes, mattresses, and beds,” stated a letter signed by the BOM Chairperson, Ambassador John Mwanegemi.

At St. Mary’s Boys, parents will pay a total of Sh4,880,100 million, with each parent required to pay Sh5,100, which is the cost of the damage. 

At Dr Aggrey School, parents are paying about Sh9 million, with each paying Sh4,500 for the cost of the damage caused by unknown people, for their children to be allowed in school. 

And at Kenyatta Boys, parents were exempted from paying for the damage costs after Mwatate MP Peter Shake donated mattresses, among other incentives, to the school. 

Lawrence Pkemei, the principal of St. Mary’s High School, said more students are yet to report back to school since they reopened the school last week because their parents cannot afford to pay for BOM damages and fee balances. 

“I have a total of 957 students, but the majority of them are still at home. We are still waiting for them to report back,” the principal told The Standard in Wundanyi town yesterday. 

Meanwhile, at least 12 secondary schools will close indefinitely or send learners home in the Western and Nyanza regions as administrators scramble to prevent further destruction.

Yesterday, Musingu High School in Kakamega County announced an indefinite closure after receiving what it described as external threats and mounting peer pressure.

The school’s management stated that they decided due to what they referred to as a “peer pressure break.”

“Following threats and pressure from outside the school, the school management has decided to release students tomorrow for a peer pressure break,” the notice read. 

Kakamega High School also sent students home after a fire broke out on Friday evening, while Ingotse Boys High School was closed indefinitely following violent student disturbances.

At Mukumu Girls High School, the administration released Form Three and Form Four students for a five-day “brief rest” beginning June 5.

In a notice signed by Senior Principal Sr. Jane Mmbone, parents were informed that “This is to kindly notify you that your daughter (F3 and F4) will be coming for a brief rest.

Bungoma High School, Kibabii Boys High School, and Kabula Boys High School also suspended learning as tensions escalated.

At Kibabii, the administration released learners after students reportedly staged unrest, while Kabula Boys was closed after a dormitory was destroyed by fire on Saturday evening. St. Cecilia Girls’ Senior School, Misikhu, also released learners on Monday.

In Homa Bay County, students at Agoro Sare High School allegedly torched a dormitory in a bizarre incident while their parents were on campus for a scheduled visiting day.

The fire broke out at about 4 p.m. on Saturday, sending giant plumes of smoke into the air and prompting members of the public and police officers to rush to the school to contain the blaze. 

The school principal, Isaack Okeyo, said preliminary investigations pointed to the involvement of two students. “The preliminary information we have currently is that some two boys were involved,” Okeyo said.

Rachuonyo South Subcounty Police Commander Philemon Saera confirmed that no injuries or fatalities were recorded.

Kisii School also sent learners home after a fire razed the school captain’s room on Friday night.

Other institutions that reportedly took precautionary measures include Sironga Girls National School in Nyamira and Kisumu Girls High School, where administrators released students amid heightened tensions and security concerns.

The incidents come only days after the tragic dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, which claimed the lives of 16 students and left several others injured. 

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Bungoma Vice Chairperson Busolo Lusweti blamed the growing unrest on overcrowding caused by high enrollment under the new senior school transition.