Parliament has launched a fresh inquiry into the rising cases of school fires and student unrest following a series of incidents that have disrupted learning in schools across the country.
The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education resolved to undertake a comprehensive investigation into the matter during a meeting held on Saturday, amid growing concern over the increasing number of unrest cases reported in learning institutions.
Committee Chairperson Julius Melly said the inquiry will seek to establish the causes behind the recurring incidents and recommend measures to restore order and stability in schools.
“We need to come up with a way forward on how we are going to look into school unrest across the country,” Melly said.
According to data presented to the committee, at least 204 schools have been affected by student unrest since January, while the Kenya Red Cross has recorded 47 fire incidents in learning institutions during the same period.
Members of the committee expressed concern over what they described as a worrying trend, noting that the problem goes beyond isolated disciplinary cases.
During the discussions, lawmakers pointed to several possible factors contributing to the unrest, including overcrowding in schools, drug and substance abuse, inadequate support systems for learners, poor communication between students and school administrations, and the growing influence of social media.
The committee also raised concerns about what it termed the increasing commercialisation of education and the erosion of values among young people.
“We are producing children who are not adequately guided at home and are heavily influenced by social media and other external factors,” Melly said.
The legislators were also informed about the results of research and assessments done on school safety in previous studies.
Some of the problems that arose included poor fire safety protocols, crowded dormitory rooms, lack of emergency exits, and inadequate emergency readiness in many institutions.
It was reported by the committee that one of the recent safety assessments carried out by the ministry revealed that there were a number of violations in schools which put learners at risk in case of any emergency.
The MP for Mandera South, Abdul Haro asked the committee to refrain from punitive and disciplinary measures while looking into the unrest.
Haro believes that the unrests should be viewed in the light of some of the wider issues affecting students in schools and the wider society.
In the course of investigating the matter, the secretariat of the committee was directed to collate information from the previous reports, audits, and parliamentary inquiries related to school unrest.
It was observed by Melly that past recommendations should not be overlooked since previous parliamentary inquiries had greatly influenced policies in education.
The investigation will aim at soliciting the views of various education stakeholders as well as reviewing existing policy guidelines before presenting recommendations aimed at addressing the growing cases of school unrest and improving safety in learning institutions
