- 59 per cent of Kenyans favour improved dialogue and tougher punishment over banning boarding schools as solutions to student-led fires.
- MoE has confirmed that 462 learners were processed in connection with school unrest between April and July 2026, which included 95 fire incidents and 18 deaths.
- PS John Ololtuaa said that arrests have strengthened accountability and served as a deterrent against further arson and vandalism in schools.
By Masaki Enock
A new survey conducted by TIFA Research has found that a majority of Kenyans oppose eliminating boarding schools or expanding school breaks as ways to curb student-led fires, with stronger support instead going toward improved dialogue and firmer disciplinary action against those responsible.
According to the findings, 36 per cent of respondents identified better dialogue and conflict resolution between students, teachers and parents as the most preferred intervention, making it the single most popular measure among the 33 options presented in the survey. Close behind, 23 per cent of respondents backed harsher punishment for students found responsible for starting fires. Combined, these two measures accounted for 59 per cent of all responses, cementing them as the clear frontrunners among Kenyans surveyed.
By contrast, scrapping boarding schools altogether drew support from just 13 per cent of respondents, while nine per cent called for increased funding toward food, activities and equipment in schools. Smaller shares of respondents favoured other interventions: three per cent backed counselling services, two per cent wanted increased supervision and security, and another two per cent proposed limiting student numbers per institution. Just one per cent supported reducing academic workload and pressure, one per cent called for greater government or Ministry of Education oversight, one per cent backed more rest and school breaks, and a final one per cent favoured civic, moral and spiritual education and support.
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The survey lands against the backdrop of a turbulent stretch for Kenyan schools. Between April 27 and July 31, 2026, nearly 330 unrest-related incidents were recorded nationally, comprising 95 fire incidents and 34 planned or attempted arson attacks, which together claimed the lives of 18 learners. By July 31, the Ministry of Education confirmed that 462 learners had been arrested, investigated, arraigned in court, bonded, remanded, counselled or otherwise processed in connection with the unrest, which included arson, attempted arson and vandalism.
Regionally, Nyanza bore the highest share of processed cases at 26.2 per cent, followed by Eastern at 25.3 per cent and Rift Valley at 19.5 per cent, while no learner was processed in North Eastern.
Speaking before the National Assembly Education Committee, Basic Education Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa confirmed the figures, stating that as of July 31, a total of 462 learners had been processed in connection with student unrest incidents countrywide.
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Ololtuaa noted that investigations into some cases remained ongoing, with several learners released on bond or bail and others referred for counselling. Ololtuaa added that the arrests had “strengthened accountability, facilitated the identification of suspected perpetrators and served as an important deterrent against further acts of arson, vandalism and school unrest.”
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