Sam Oando is a Research Manager at the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), and Adjunct Professor at the United States International University (USIU).
In the past two weeks, Kenya has experienced a profound national tragedy due to the arson attacks perpetrated by learners against their colleagues in different schools.
These incidents have not only caused distress, shock and anxiety, but have also heightened concerns about the prevailing uncertainty regarding school safety across the country.
The act itself constitutes a criminal offense, and it is imperative that the perpetrators face appropriate legal consequences.
Following these events, there has been notable agitation and unrest in numerous other schools. Category 1 and 2 (C1&2) schools, formerly known as national and extra county schools, have experienced significant panic and restlessness, resulting in indefinite closures.
The critical questions remain: what are the underlying causes of this situation? Could these emergencies have been anticipated? Furthermore, who bears responsibility?
In search of answers, I inquired with my daughter, who is currently at home over the same. She responded without hesitation that a break was necessary because everyone feared the unknown.
Subsequently, I reviewed several WhatsApp groups and encountered highly charged and emotional debates.
It became evident that both social media and mainstream media platforms were inundated with blame games and abstract solutions to the problem.
Children have been heavily criticized for indiscipline, while parents and religious institutions have not been spared the blame.
Certain groups have suggested that boarding schools are problematic and should be abolished. Conversations with some teachers indicated that students are spoiled by their parents, until it was revealed that a teacher's son was among those accused of leading the criminal activities at the school where he is an administrator.
Many parents have unanimously called for the reinstatement of corporal punishment to enforce discipline.
In some instances, principals have been blamed for sending children home as a pretext to collect outstanding school fees.
Emotions have been running high, with politicians blaming the government, parents blaming teachers, and teachers caught in a dilemma.
Ultimately, the Ministry of Education bears responsibility and has been criticized by numerous self-proclaimed experts.
Children also bear blame, despite lacking a platform to express their perspectives. Currently, perceptions, assumptions, and anger dominate the discourse.
This issue has prompted me to engage in some reading, revealing that these debates are seldom supported by evidence.
A critical aspect often neglected is that prior to the promulgation of Kenya's new constitution, the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with key stakeholders, developed the Safety Standards Manual in 2008.
This manual, which is accessible online, was described by the minister at the time as a "rallying point for Kenyans to reflect on child safety both in and out of schools," highlighting that the challenge is not novel, particularly over the past decade.
In the manual, Prof. Sam Ongeri, who was the minister then, encouraged "all Kenyans to come together to dialogue and agree on common standards for child protection through this first edition of the school Safety Standards Manual."
However, this appeal was largely ignored and forgotten by the stakeholders involved.
In 2020, the Office of the Auditor General conducted an audit of public schools regarding their preparedness for fire emergencies in boarding secondary schools during the period from 2014 to 2019.
The audit findings, which are also available online, reveal that although some schools had installed the necessary fire equipment, a majority (70%) were inadequately prepared to manage fire incidents due to deficiencies in infrastructure and response capabilities.
Moreover, the audit findings identified congestion in schools as a critical factor affecting safety during emergencies.
The findings indicate that while the Ministry of Education provides schools with registration certificates specifying maximum enrollment capacity, 75% of schools exceeded these limits. Additionally, 29 out of 40 schools surpassed the maximum class size of 45 students.
Many high-performing schools adopted triple-decker beds, contrary to the requirement of a maximum of two-decker beds, to accommodate students, and 85% of schools did not adhere to the prescribed spacing requirements between beds in dormitories.
Overcrowding in high schools has been intensified by the 100% transition rate for Grade 10 admissions this year. It is reported that principals are competing for the large, unauthorized student numbers to secure additional funds for school operations due to decreasing capitation.
Some are purportedly exploiting this situation for corrupt practices by imposing unauthorized levies under the pretense of remedial and motivational activities.
School administrators have evidently lost the ability to effectively monitor, manage, and provide individualized attention and support to students. Students face significant pressure in all aspects, from meal queues to toilet access, while day schools are largely empty.
However, the responsibility for school congestion does not lie solely with principals. Parents have pushed to enroll their children in C1 and C2 schools by any means, while the ministry has overlooked regulatory compliance.
This situation highlights the extent to which decisions have disregarded not only policy but also the evidence supporting these policies for school safety.
In academic research, over 200 students have conducted master's research on this topic, available online. Notably, Chepngeno (2025) from Kenyatta University has identified significant gaps in the implementation of safety practices in secondary schools.
She notes that most institutional heads have rarely accessed policy documents, let alone read the regulations, and remain unaware of "sociocultural safety practices" and policy requirements. All this evidence is hardly used by administrators.
Based on this, I contend that the blame for unrest in schools should not be placed solely on the learners. Instead, Kenyan society must holistically reflect on upbringing, politics, and the social fabric to shape individuals and society.
To achieve this, the use of evidence in policy decision-making is essential.
School decision-makers, including education officers, school administrators, and teachers, should rely on evidence to develop new strategies to understand adolescents' psychosocial needs and to comprehend evolving trends in technology, access to information, and changing requirements for guidance and counseling.
The solution is in research and government reports already just pending action!
Dr Oando is the
Research Manager at the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research
(PASGR), and Adjunct Professor at the United States International University (USIU).
