St. George’s Girls Secondary School in Nairobi has been closed indefinitely following a night of chaos and confrontation between students and teachers.
The unrest, involving more than 1,800 students, began late Sunday after reports of an altercation between a teacher and a Form Three girl around 9.30 pm. The girl, who has braces, is said to have sustained a jaw injury during the incident.
Students had reportedly been outside observing the “blood moon” during the full solar eclipse when the altercation occurred.
The alleged assault triggered a riot, with students pulling down the school gate and marching out of the compound onto Dennis Pritt Road.
The agitated group staged a sit-in and later marched to the nearby Royal Media Services offices.
Witnesses said attempts to persuade the girls to return to school were met with resistance as they continued chanting and protesting.
Police intervened around midnight and managed to escort the students back inside the school compound, though they refused to return to their dormitories. Officers kept watch at the gate throughout the night.
By Monday morning, the standoff had drawn government and education officials, including Dagoretti North Subcounty Commissioner, ministry officials, and Kilimani OCPD Patricia Yegon, who all tried to calm the situation.
At around 10 am, the administration announced the indefinite closure of the school, giving students just 20 minutes to vacate the compound. Parents had already started arriving at the institution as the decision was communicated.
The closure comes amid heightened concerns over student unrest in schools, with education officials expected to investigate both the alleged assault and the subsequent destruction of property.
