Bitok summons school heads for emergency meeting as student unrest rises

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok /FILE

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok has convened an emergency meeting with all public secondary school principals and field officers following a surge in cases of student unrest reported across the country in recent weeks.

In a circular addressed to regional, county and subcounty directors of education, Bitok directed education officials to ensure all heads of public secondary schools attend the virtual meeting scheduled for Thursday.

The meeting, which will be chaired by the PS, had initially been planned for Wednesday, May 13, but was later postponed to Thursday morning.

“The Principal Secretary will chair a virtual meeting of all principals and field officers on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 8am. You are asked to inform all principals of public secondary schools within your jurisdiction to attend the meeting. The link will be shared before the meeting,” the circular stated.

The emergency meeting comes against the backdrop of escalating student unrest incidents that have disrupted learning in several schools across the country, raising concern within the Ministry of Education and security agencies.

Over the past few weeks, a number of schools have experienced strikes, dormitory fires, walkouts and destruction of property, with some incidents leaving students injured and causing losses worth millions of shillings.

Among the most commonly cited grievances was the quality and quantity of food, poor living conditions in boarding facilities, academic pressure, strict or harsh disciplinary systems and change of leadership in some schools.

Among the latest reported cases occurred on May 12 at State House Girls, Naiorbi, where students reportedly complained about poor sanitation, water shortages and delayed syllabus coverage, and at Kaumoni Boys High School in Kaiti, Makueni county, where students allegedly set several administrative offices ablaze during unrest at the institution.

The fire reportedly destroyed key sections of the school infrastructure, including the principal’s office, deputy principal’s office, dean of students’ office, laboratory and staffroom.

Preliminary reports indicated that the inferno caused extensive damage estimated to run into millions of shillings.

Other recent incidents include a dormitory fire at Mirithu Girls Secondary School in Kiambu county in April, which led to the temporary closure of the school, and a fire outbreak at Dr Aggrey National School in Wundanyi on April 30.

In Embu county, students at Kangaru Boys Secondary School staged a strike on March 22, while Njoro Girls Senior School in Nakuru county was closed indefinitely earlier in February following unrest linked to the sudden death of a Form Four student.

School managements reported that several students were injured in some of the incidents, while personal property was destroyed and a number of learners arrested to assist with investigations into the unrest.

The growing wave of disturbances has prompted increased concern from government officials, with the Ministry of Interior earlier in February announcing a crackdown targeting schools located in counties considered hotspots for unrest cases.

The affected counties include Kericho, Nandi, Nakuru, Kitui, Tharaka Nithi, Kakamega, Narok, Kisii, Nyeri, Nyamira, Kajiado, Migori, Kirinyaga, Trans Nzoia and Nairobi.