from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – EXACTLY two years since the youth-led protests that rocked the country, a massive wave of student unrest has hit Kenya.
Countrywide, the situation has escalated from characteristic student complaints into a serious crisis involving coordinated walkouts, property destruction and deadly arson attacks that have forced a number of prominent institutions to close indefinitely.
Around 100 secondary schools have been affected as students run rampant.
Students use social groups to communicate with peers to mobilise.
Amid accusations of the scholars being under the influence of alcohol and drugs smuggled into premises, the current wave of unrest has taken a devastating turn.
A dormitory arson attack at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil on May 28 resulted in the deaths of 16 students and left about 80 others injured in the fire.
Investigators have since detained several girls, noting that the suspected motives stemmed from peer pressure, changes to exam timetables and internal school rules.
High-profile national and county schools have not been spared.
The Alliance High School suffered a dormitory fire in the early hours of June 4. This led to the detention of more than 20 students.
Lenana School, Loreto High School Limuru and Buruburu Girls have also faced disruption, walkouts, or temporary closures to forestall strikes.
A number of issues prevail, with the second term impacted.
“Term Two is notoriously high-stakes,” analyst Misheck Obara said.
During the term, students are facing immense pressure preparing for mock examinations, which simulate the national end-of-year exams.
“Historically, academic anxiety heavily correlates with spikes in unrest during this exact window,” Obara said.
In addition, stakeholders decry that boarding structures are rigid and feature draconian rules and long hours.
“This creates a pressure-cooker environment for modern students,” Obara said.
Student welfare is also low, amid the rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and high enrolment rates leaving many institutions to deal with overcrowded facilities and overwhelmed staff.
“While the violence is uncalled-for, the underlying anger usually stems from deep-seated student grievances that simmer until they explode,” Obara said.
This week, the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) urged the government to consider a brief closure of schools to curb the unrest.
The government has insisted schools remain open.
Among other measures, the government has directed tighter security patrols, compulsory screening of students returning from trips and the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) technology.
This week, Isaac Mwaura, government spokesperson, took time to respond to concerns and suggestions by stakeholders, including parents.
“The government acknowledges the concerns raised by recent incidents of school unrest across the country and remains fully committed to ensuring safe, supportive and conducive learning environments for all learners,” he said.
The spokesman said these incidents highlighted the need to strengthen mental health support, improve learning environments, enhance student engagement and address emerging challenges facing young people.
The government is intensifying counselling services, teacher capacity-building, learner support programmes and school safety measures, he assured.
In addition, the number of Quality Assurance Officers has been increased from 600 to 1 000 nationwide to strengthen oversight, assess educational standards and support targeted interventions across schools.
Mwaura said it was important that parents nurtured discipline, responsibility, respect and accountability in children.
“Discipline is not punishment. It is the process of teaching values, setting boundaries and helping young people understand that actions have consequences.”
“Doing away with boarding schools is not the solution to the unrest that we are seeing, it is about the discipline of our children,” Mwaura added.
There have been concerns that boarding schools were breeding grounds for sexual immorality.
“We have to speak about issues of immorality. We must speak about homosexuality and lesbianism in schools. We have to have that very difficult conversation,” Mwaura said.
Over 30 people were killed during youth-led anti-government protests against economic crises in 2024.
Those grievances and the latest skirmishes do not bode well for the government of President William Ruto with polls set for the winter of 2027.
– CAJ News