A multiagency team has been formed to investigate school unrest in the Central region.
Regional commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga told the media on Tuesday the team comprises officials from the Ministry of Education, the Teachers Service Commission and security agencies.
The report will be presented in two weeks so that action is taken as per recommendations.
Nyagwanga suspected use of drugs in schools could be contributing to the problem. He cited Kanjuri High School in Nyeri where a student was arrested with bhang, only for his schoolmates to burn the school the following day.
Nyagwanga said the issue is becoming serious as about 53 schools have been affected since the wave of unrest started.
He regretted wanton destruction of property, cautioning that if the issue is not taken seriously, there might be loss of life as some students have been going to school armed with knives.
“There are certain incidents where students have walked to school with knives and they want to attack others,” he said.
Other possible causes have been named as lack of midterm break, leading to busy long terms.
"But by and large, we also want to ask school managers to look critically into how students get to buy petrol and bring it to schools. Those are the issues we need to find out because somebody must be accountable.”
He said firm action will be taken against those who cannot explain how petrol gets into schools, yet there are gatekeepers.
National administration officials, including chiefs and their assistants, and residents have also been urged to support the initiative.
Nyumba Kumi will also be involved, while all county and subcounty security committees will be alerted to ensure schools are protected.
"We need to send a straight message to those hellbent on perpetuating this kind of a mess,” he said, adding they suspect some people within schools perpetuate the problem.
“I promise you that we shall deal squarely with whoever thinks that they can do business in terms of drugs trading in our schools.”
He said the law will take its course irrespective of whether the culprits are underage.
He also called on parents to teach their children the sanctity of life and protection of property to bring up responsible citizens.
Already, investigations are ongoing and arrests have been made in cases where schools have been burnt.
Nyagwanga warned traders against selling fuel to people who buy it in containers.
Regional police commander Titus Karuri said the police have received cases from all Central counties except Nyandarua. Police have been visiting the schools to assess the damage and find out the causes of the fires, he said.
“In some cases, information has come out straight that some particular students have been involved and some of them have been taken to court for arson,” he said.
Also present were regional security team members and education, TSC, Directorate of Criminal Investigations and National Intelligence Service officials.
