Unrest rocks Nyanza schools

Students salvage what is left of their property after an evening fire gutted down a dormitory at Ambira High School in Siaya County on July 6, 2018. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Ambira High School has become the fifth secondary school in Nyanza and the fourth in Siaya County to be shut down in just one week.

The five schools that have been hit by unrest are: Kisumu Girls, Ng'iya Girls, Maranda, Maliera and Ambira.

Whereas the other schools were closed down and students sent home over unrest, education authorities said they were still investigating the cause of fire at Ambira that gutted down one of the dormitories.

Nyanza Counties Education coordinator Richard Chepkawai said they have asked students in Ambira to go home as investigations into the Thursday night inferno kicked off.

"They will go back to school as soon as we sort out the issue of the burnt dormitory to ensure those affected have a place to sleep in," he said.

On Friday, Education officials who held a meeting with Ambira principal Thomas Kogolla declined to comment on the fire incident.

In Maranda, principal Edwin Namachanja met staff and later met school’s board of management chairman Carey Orege in an attempt to work on a return-to-school formula.

Mr Orege blamed some Education ministry’s policies for the wave of unrests in schools.

"The populist policies they are imposing must not be applied selectively. Why are their children not subjected to this free system of education? These cannot produce better results. Teachers must be motivated," said Mr Orege, a former Ministry of Regional Development permanent secretary.

Mr Chepkawai said preliminary report show the strikes could have been caused by "resistance to new Teachers Service Changes (TSC) changes."

"We also feel the new principals may have brought new changes in administration which may not have gone down well with " those they work with."

"We believe however that TSC changes were positive and shall act appropriately depending on those liable for the unrests," Mr Chepkawai said.