The ongoing crisis in Kenya’s education sector deepened today as a fresh wave of student unrest and suspected arson forced the immediate, indefinite closure of several prominent national and county boarding schools.
The emergency shutdowns at Chianda High School, Kisumu Girls High School, Kisii School, Sironga Girls, and Tenwek Boys mark an alarming escalation in a nationwide wave of student strikes that has disrupted learning in nearly 100 institutions since the beginning of Term Two.
In Siaya County, the Chianda High School administration, in conjunction with the Board of Management (BOM) and the Ministry of Education, ordered students to vacate the premises early Saturday morning, June 6, following a devastating dormitory fire.
“Due to the fire incident in one of the dormitories, the BOM and Ministry of Education have decided to release students today starting at 7:00 a.m.,” read an emergency circular dispatched to parents by the Senior Principal. Distraught parents spent the morning arriving at the institution to collect their sons.
Meanwhile, a major crisis was narrowly averted at Kisumu Girls High School. Acting on intelligence reports and heightened internal surveillance, the school administration, PA Executive, and the BOM chose to send students home pre-emptively to safeguard lives and infrastructure, stating that a return date would only be issued once the security situation stabilizes.
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The unrest rapidly spread through the South Nyanza and South Rift regions overnight, forcing regional education directors into crisis meetings as closures cascaded. In Nyamira County, Sironga Girls High School sent students packing after security officials warned of highly volatile tension within the student body.
Simultaneously, Kisii School and Bomet’s Tenwek Boys High School joined the growing list of shuttered institutions, indefinitely suspending all academic programs following sudden student walkouts.
These fresh closures come just days after a separate dormitory fire at Alliance High School caused massive property destruction, compounding the deep anxiety felt by education stakeholders and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) over the physical and psychological toll of the crisis.
Security agencies have warned that students are heavily leveraging social media and peer influence across county lines to coordinate mass walkouts and arson attacks.
Despite intense pressure from lawmakers and parents to address underlying grievances, ranging from acute exam pressure to structural administrative failures, the Ministry of Education recently ruled out shortening Term Two.
Speaking during the Speech and Prize-Giving Day at The Kenya High School on Thursday, June 4, Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the academic calendar will remain intact.
Bitok noted that the incidents reported in a number of schools are isolated cases and do not justify a nationwide closure of learning institutions.
He added that the Ministry of Education is tackling the situation through enhanced dialogue, strengthened security measures, and closer collaboration with school communities to ensure learners remain safe and focused on their studies.
By Frank Mugwe
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