By RENSON MNYAMWEZI
TAITA TAVETA COUNTY: Nine secondary school students have been arrested and scores suspended in a wave of school unrest in Taita-Taveta County.
Police and education officials said that the Kenyatta National School students in Mwatate district were arrested for allegedly burning the school dormitory. Eighteen others had also been suspended for misconduct.
The suspension brings to 29 the number of students so far suspended for indiscipline in the region. Eleven students from St Mary’s Boys High School in Wundanyi division had been suspended for unruliness.
Taita District Education Officer (DEO) Mr Samwel Nyantika said St Mary’s Board of Governors closed the school after the students burnt down the deputy headteacher’s offices. “More than 300 students do not want to sit for their terminal examination so the BOG decided to close the school indefinitely,” he said.
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Closed classrooms
The county Police Commander Richard Bitonga said the students would be taken to court once investigations were complete.
He said police also recovered a five-litre jerican of petrol suspected to have been used in the incident. “We are perturbed by the wave of unrest in local schools and something must be done to address the problem,” said Mr Bitonga.
According to education officials, a total of ten secondary schools had been hit by student unrest.
In Voi, area DEO Kennedy Machora said seven schools had been affected by riots and they include Mwakichuchu, Mwakitawa, Mwambiti, Kajire, Mwaghogho and Moi.
In Mwatate district, the area education officer Wellingtone Ongande said there had been strikes in two schools and in Wundanyi, Mwandango High School.
Ongande said students at Mwandango blocked classrooms to prevent teachers from teaching them.
