Secondary school principals have rejected attempts to place sole responsibility for the recent wave of student unrest and school fires on administrators, arguing that the crisis reflects wider challenges affecting Kenya’s education sector.
Speaking ahead of the 49th KESSHA Annual National Delegates Conference, school heads defended their role amid growing criticism following hundreds of reported unrest incidents that have disrupted learning across the country since April.
KESSHA National Chairman Willie Kuria maintained that blaming principals before investigations are completed is unfair and risks overlooking deeper issues facing learners and institutions.
The response follows remarks from education authorities linking the unrest to weaknesses in school management, discipline enforcement and limited psychological support systems for students.
School leaders, however, insist the causes are more complex and should not be reduced to administrative failure alone. They argued that pressure associated with school transitions, changing learner needs, social influences and resource constraints should also be examined.
Principals also dismissed proposals to phase out boarding schools as a solution, saying such measures fail to address the underlying causes of student unrest.
Instead, KESSHA proposed targeted interventions, including transferring students who struggle to adapt to boarding environments into day schools and introducing stronger accountability measures for those found responsible for destruction of property.
Education leaders further raised concerns over funding, arguing that current government allocations per learner are insufficient to support effective school administration and student welfare programmes under the existing curriculum framework.
Source Attributed: Nation Newspaper