Former President Kibaki condemns school unrest

Former President Mwai Kibaki has termed the wave of unrest in schools as unacceptable and regrettable.

Mr Kibaki urged students to maintain high standards of discipline in order to excel in their studies and be dependable citizens in the future, adding that parents and the teachers must also aspire to be good mentors, dependable leaders and guide students to be morally upright.

The former president made the remarks on Saturday at Starehe Boys’ Centre and School during the institutions’ 57th founders day cerebrations, where he commended the Starehe community for maintaining high standards of discipline.

The country has been faced with a wave of student unrest that has seen more than 120 schools burnt and property worth millions of shillings destroyed.

On Thursday, Education Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i met with members of the clergy and the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) on Thursday to discuss ways of curbing school unrest.

In a statement to media on Wednesday, Principal Secretary Belo Kipsang said the government was aware of the rise in cases of arson and was committed to address the situation.

“The country has witnessed an inexplicable wave of school unrests with valuable school infrastructure set on fire during the better part of Second Term in the Schools Calendar.”

“In view of the unrests and arson attacks in schools, the Cabinet Secretary has found it necessary to continue holding consultative meetings with stakeholders,” he said.

On Saturday two members of Parliament speaking during different functions said The National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF) will not fund the reconstruction of schools that have been burnt by students.

Malindi MP William Mtengo and his Garsen counterpart Ibrahim Sane said they support the reforms in the education sector being spearheaded by Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i saying that they were aimed at streamlining the sector and weeding out corruption cartels.