The Kenyan government has firmly shut the door on proposals to abolish the boarding school system, insisting that the ongoing wave of student unrest reflects deeper societal failures rather than a structural flaw in residential learning.
Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura made the declaration on Monday, June 8, as pressure mounted on education authorities following a surge of dormitory fires, violent strikes, and school closures that have gripped the country in recent weeks.
“You cannot argue that removing or scrapping boarding schools will instil discipline among students. Most of us went to boarding schools, but does it mean we are indisciplined?” Mwaura posed while addressing the press.
The spokesperson went further, pointing to evidence from stakeholder discussions suggesting that some of the most pressing youth challenges are actually more common in day school settings.
“Removing boarding schools is not the solution. We had this conversation recently, and it was found that issues such as teen pregnancies are prevalent in day schools,” he said.
According to Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, nearly 80 schools out of Kenya’s approximately 5,900 senior secondary schools have been closed either due to unrest or destruction of property — a crisis that has rattled parents, educators, and government officials alike.
Mwaura acknowledged the severity of the situation but argued that the root causes lie beyond school walls. He said the unrest may be a symptom of social and family dysfunction bleeding into the school environment, and called for a candid national conversation on the values being instilled in Kenya’s youth.
He urged religious leaders, educators, policymakers, parents, and community leaders to jointly take responsibility for shaping the character of the next generation.
To bolster oversight and restore order, the government has announced a significant expansion of Quality Assurance Officers nationwide, growing the number from 600 to 1,000, with plans for further increases. The officers will be rebranded as school inspectors and given broader mandates covering lesson quality, student welfare, and institutional leadership.
Mwaura added that the government is simultaneously rolling out enhanced counselling services, teacher capacity-building programmes, and targeted learner support initiatives across affected institutions.
The government’s position sets up a direct standoff with teachers’ unions, particularly KUPPET, which has been calling for an immediate one-week school break and an emergency national stakeholder summit to address what it describes as a crisis no longer containable through routine administrative measures.
With dormitories still smoldering in parts of the country and parents demanding answers, the government’s response signals a preference for systemic reform over structural change — a gamble that will be tested in the days ahead.
