Arson Attacks Haunt Secondary Schools, Is It Time We Thought Day Schooling?

By Virginia Nyambura

Secondary schools’ arson attacks are back and property worth millions has already been razed down by the mysterious recurring fire.

While the current wave of school unrest and fire cases has paralyzed learning in the institutions, rebuilding these facilities will obviously be an uphill task with parents digging deeper into their pockets to cover the cost.

More than 40 schools have been closed across the country, following the unrest rocking the institutions with around 30 of them having some of their facilities burnt down.

Police, however, claim that investigations are hampered by the school administration’s reluctance to present names of the suspects to them for questioning.

“No one is ready to share vital information with us, it has been hard to hold anyone accountable,” said Kibwezi West, Nzaui OCPD Patrick Olonyi.

Meanwhile, at least 125 students are in police custody as reported by the education cabinet secretary Amina Mohamed.

The rising trend of deliberate school fires has not lacked its share of hefty consequences too with Lamu boys’ parents expected to bear the cost of rebuilding the burnt down structures totaling to 2.5 million shillings, while 15 of their students continue to face the law.

The reasons given mostly include; anxiety over mock exams, peer pressure which makes students engage in arson simply because other schools are reported to have engaged, harsh discipline measures or resistance of transfers for their members of the school administration.

Between years 2015 to 2016, more than 300 schools caught fire countrywide according to the government. The unrest cases were mostly blamed on the then implementation of strict policies by the then Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i. These cases had risen from 76 fires from 2011 to 2013 as recorded by academic sources.

Though not clear how many fire cases were deliberate, it is clear, school fires have become a trend that must be nipped in the bud.  

On Thursday, Education Permanent Secretary Belio Kipsang while speaking to the Parliamentary Committee noted that the government was considering introducing more day schools.

Could this be the solution to the increasing fire cases in schools?