Students to Be Included in Multi-Stakeholder Task Force to Address School Unrest.
The Government has announced the formation of a multi-stakeholder task force that will, for the first time, include learners in efforts to investigate the recent wave of school unrest and arson incidents that have disrupted learning across the country and resulted in the deaths of 18 learners since April.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced the initiative during the closing ceremony of the 49th Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) Annual National Delegates Conference in Mombasa, stating that the task force will undertake a comprehensive review of the escalating incidents of school unrest and develop recommendations aimed at strengthening dialogue, discipline, learner welfare, and peaceful co-existence in schools.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, the newly constituted task force will differ from previous committees established to investigate school unrest by incorporating learners as active participants alongside other stakeholders in the education sector. The membership will include students and student leaders, principals, teachers, parents, religious leaders, psychologists, security agencies, child protection experts, and other education stakeholders.
Mr Ogamba stated that the task force will be mandated to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the causes of school unrest rather than limiting its work to identifying perpetrators of violence.
“We are constituting a multi-stakeholder task team to undertake a comprehensive review of the challenge of unrest and to make recommendations for institutionalising effective dialogue and peaceful co-existence in schools,” Mr Ogamba said.
He added that the task force would have an extensive mandate covering all contributory factors associated with school unrest.
“This team will have a broad mandate of evaluating the challenge of unrest and all causative factors. The team will include all stakeholders in the education ecosystem and will have extensive terms of reference to address this problem comprehensively,” he said.
The Cabinet Secretary further disclosed that the terms of reference will cover a wide range of issues affecting schools, including capitation, school uniforms, and other matters raised by stakeholders during consultations.
“We need to have everybody on board, not just experts, even students and student leaders so that we can resolve these issues in a manner that does not hit to blame games and then we do not solve the problems,” Mr Ogamba stated.
The announcement follows a significant increase in school disturbances recorded during the second term. Data from the Ministry of Education indicates that since April 27, a total of 330 cases of school unrest have been reported nationwide. These include 95 fire incidents and 34 attempted arson attacks.
The Ministry further reported that the incidents have resulted in the deaths of 18 learners. Sixteen learners died in the Utumishi Academy dormitory fire, while two additional learners lost their lives in separate school fire incidents in Eastern Kenya and Western Kenya.
Mr Ogamba stated that the Government intends to address the underlying causes of school unrest through policy reforms informed by the findings of the task force.
“The findings of this task force will guide future policy on school discipline, learner welfare and safety. We want to establish not only what happened but why it happened and what must be done to prevent a recurrence,” he said.
Education stakeholders have associated the increase in school unrest with multiple factors, including mental health challenges, drug and substance abuse, social media influence, peer pressure, family instability, and anxiety related to ongoing education reforms.
The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged that learners are increasingly experiencing complex social and psychological challenges and stated that schools should strengthen learner support systems alongside academic programmes.
“We must also pay close attention to learner well-being. Let us not become too focused on academic achievement to forget the broader developmental needs of learners. Academic success and learner wellness are not competing priorities; they are mutually reinforcing,” he said.
Mr Ogamba directed schools to establish safe spaces where learners can seek guidance and psychosocial support without fear and emphasized that guidance and counselling should become integral components of school management.
“Guidance and counselling should not be viewed as peripheral services. They should be central components of learner support systems,” he said.
The Cabinet Secretary also reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to supporting school administrators in enforcing discipline within the legal framework.
“Discipline remains a fundamental pillar of effective learning and orderly school management. We shall continue to support school administrators in enforcing discipline within the framework of the law,” he said.
School principals were further encouraged to strengthen co-curricular programmes, including sports, music, drama, clubs, and other extracurricular activities, which the Ministry indicated contribute to learner well-being by promoting teamwork, leadership, creativity, resilience, self-confidence, and healthy outlets for managing stress.
“These activities develop teamwork, leadership, creativity, resilience and self-confidence while providing healthy outlets for stress,” Mr Ogamba stated.
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To strengthen institutional capacity in learner welfare management, the Cabinet Secretary announced that the Open University of Kenya has developed a self-paced online course on school stability and learner welfare targeting teachers and school principals.
According to the Ministry, the programme is designed to equip educators with competencies in the early identification of risk factors, conflict prevention, and the establishment of safe, learner-centred school environments while allowing normal school operations to continue uninterrupted.
Students to Be Included in Multi-Stakeholder Task Force to Address School Unrest.
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