• County commissioner Fred Ndunga has ordered principals to report all students' complaints that could lead to unrest to the multi-agency team.
• Principals have also been asked to instal CCTV cameras in schools.
Deputy county commissioners in Murang'a have been directed to form multi-agency teams to handle student unrest.
In the recent past, students have destroyed property in nine schools in the county.
County commissioner Fred Ndunga said the teams will include all education stakeholders, including the subcounty director of education and security officers.
He said students in the affected schools have indicated that they are uncomfortable with tight class schedules that have denied them time for co-curricular activities.
But Ndunga said an in-depth look into the cases showed that the involved students are just indisciplined, with some having engaged in drug abuse.
He said principals will now have to take full responsibility over their schools and will be required to report any complaints from students that could lead to unrest to the subcounty multi-agency team for action to be taken.
Should incidents of school destruction occur before the principals inform the authorities on the issues raised by the students, Ndunga said that investigations will then start with them.
“The work of the Ministry of Interior is to create a conducive environment, but the management of the school is the role of the principal,” the commissioner said.
Ndunga also wants principals to maintain a good rapport with the surrounding community and should there be any issues, they should inform the authorities.
He said cases of outsiders accessing schools to disrupt learning should be reported so that action can be taken against them.
“But when there are complaints, we want to know so that the situation can be arrested before it gets out of hand. Principals should not be afraid. Don’t portray a rosy picture of your school when there are issues,” Ndunga said.
He ordered principals to instal CCTV cameras to monitor what is happening in their schools.
All national government administrative officers starting from the assistant chief were directed to monitor schools in their areas and report any incidents.
“We are also asking teachers to be firm and fair while disciplining students and follow the required procedures,” he added.
He said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations will investigate indiscipline cases perpetrated by students and appealed for the cooperation of all leaders.
Ndunga said he is in the process of quantifying the damage caused by student unrest in schools.
He said several students have been taken to court and some have confessed to have participated in the destruction of school property.
“Some have told us that they bought petrol to burn down school property because they did not want to be in the school any more,” Ndunga said.
The commissioner further asked principals to ensure that dormitories’ building regulations are strictly followed so that students are not hurt when unrest occurs.
He, however, said that unlike the case of Buruburu Girls High School in Nairobi where a fire broke out while students were in the dormitory, many fire incidents occur while students are in class.
Meanwhile, Ndunga has asked jua kali artisans who are yet to be registered to do so in order to benefit from the economic stimulus programme project of construction of 11,600 classrooms.
He said schools will get between one and four classrooms that will be constructed by artisans near the schools.
Edited by A.N