The recent wave of student unrest and destruction of school property across the country should concern every parent, teacher, policymaker, and citizen. While much attention has focused on schools and administrators, the crisis points to a deeper societal challenge involving parenting, values, discipline, and the growing disconnect between rights and responsibilities. Unless addressed urgently, the culture of destruction taking root among our youth could have far-reaching consequences for the future of our nation.
Kenya is facing a growing national crisis that demands urgent attention from parents, teachers, religious leaders, policymakers, and society at large. Cases of student unrest have become increasingly frequent, more organised, and unfortunately more destructive. Dormitories have been torched, classrooms vandalised, school property destroyed, and learning disrupted. What was once an occasional strike has evolved into a worrying culture of destruction.
The question we must ask ourselves is simple but profound: What kind of nation are we raising? What kind of society do we expect to inherit Kenya in the next ten or twenty years if our children have come to believe that burning institutions is the best way to express dissatisfaction?
For decades, student strikes existed in schools. They were not new. Previous generations also complained about food, discipline, academic pressure, school rules, or administrative decisions. However, despite the grievances, strikes rarely culminated in the widespread destruction of property that we witness today. Students would demonstrate, boycott classes, petition school administrations, or seek intervention from parents and education authorities. There were excesses, but there remained an understanding that school property belonged to the community and that destroying it ultimately hurt everyone. Today, that understanding appears to be fading.
The destruction of schools should not be viewed as a school problem alone. It is a societal problem. Schools are merely mirrors reflecting what is happening in our homes and communities. Before we blame teachers and school administrators, we must honestly examine ourselves as parents and as a society.
The African child was traditionally raised through a collective system of responsibility. Parents, grandparents, religious institutions, and the wider community all played a role in shaping character. Respect, accountability, discipline, and responsibility were values instilled from childhood. A child understood that actions carried consequences. There were clear boundaries between rights and responsibilities.
Many of today's parents, however, find themselves caught between modern lifestyles, demanding careers, and changing social norms. As a result, meaningful engagement with children has reduced significantly. Some parents spend very little quality time with their children. Others attempt to compensate for their absence through material provisions, assuming that providing food, shelter, school fees, and gadgets is sufficient parenting. Yet parenting goes beyond meeting material needs.
Children require guidance, correction, mentorship, and emotional connection. They need parents who are actively involved in their lives, who understand their struggles, monitor their behavior, and shape their values. When parents withdraw from this responsibility, children seek guidance elsewhere, often from peers, social media, and other influences that may not always be positive.
Unfortunately, many parents have increasingly transferred the responsibility of raising children entirely to schools. Teachers are expected to educate, discipline, counsel, mentor, supervise, and sometimes even parent children. When things go wrong, society is quick to point fingers at teachers and school administrators. But can teachers realistically replace parents?
A teacher may spend several hours with a child during the school term, but the foundation of character is laid at home. Schools can reinforce values, but they cannot manufacture them from nothing. When children arrive at school lacking respect for authority, self-control, empathy, and accountability, educational institutions face an uphill task. The conversation around children's rights also deserves careful examination.
Human rights are fundamental and must be protected. Children deserve dignity, safety, education, and freedom from abuse. However, rights must always be accompanied by responsibilities. A society that teaches children only about their rights while neglecting their obligations creates a dangerous imbalance.
Some young people have grown up believing that freedom means the absence of boundaries. They have been taught how to demand rights but not how to exercise responsibility. They are quick to challenge authority but reluctant to accept consequences. They expect to be heard but are unwilling to listen.
This is not a failure of children alone. It is a failure of the adults who are responsible for preparing them for citizenship. Democracy itself depends on discipline. Freedom without responsibility becomes chaos. Rights without accountability become entitlement. A healthy society teaches its citizens not only how to claim their rights but also how to fulfill their duties.
The increasing destruction of school points to a growing culture of instant reactions. We are witnessing a generation that often seeks immediate solutions to frustration. Patience is declining. Dialogue is being replaced by confrontation. Negotiation is giving way to destruction.
Social media has contributed significantly to this trend. We live in an age where emotions spread rapidly. Anger can be amplified within minutes. A grievance in one corner of the country quickly becomes national news. Children are exposed to content that often glorifies rebellion, confrontation, and sensational actions.
At the same time, technology has reduced direct human interaction. Many families sit together physically but remain separated emotionally by screens. Conversations between parents and children have become shorter. Family values that were once transmitted through storytelling, shared meals, and community gatherings are steadily eroding. The consequences are becoming visible in our schools.
When students burn a dormitory because they dislike a school rule, what message are they sending? When they destroy laboratories, classrooms, or buses, who suffers? The immediate victims may be school administrations, but the long-term victims are the students themselves and future generations.
A burned classroom delays learning. A destroyed dormitory creates overcrowding. Damaged infrastructure diverts resources that could have improved educational quality. Parents are forced to contribute additional funds for repairs. Taxpayers bear financial burdens. Communities lose valuable resources. Most importantly, future students lose opportunities.
It is deeply troubling that some students fail to consider that younger siblings, relatives, and future learners will require the same facilities they are destroying. Schools are not private property owned by principals or teachers. They are public investments built through sacrifice and collective effort.
Every classroom destroyed represents years of planning, fundraising, construction, and community support. Every laboratory burned represents opportunities lost for future scientists, engineers, doctors, and innovators. The culture of destruction also raises serious questions about the future leadership of our nation.
The students who burn schools today will become voters, professionals, public servants, business leaders, and political leaders tomorrow. If they are conditioned to believe that destruction is an acceptable means of expressing dissatisfaction, what happens when they occupy positions of influence? Will they solve national challenges through dialogue or through confrontation? Will they build institutions or destroy them? Will they respect democratic processes or undermine them whenever outcomes do not favor them?
The character of a nation is shaped long before citizens enter adulthood. Values acquired during childhood often determine behavior later in life. A society that tolerates indiscipline among young people should not be surprised when similar behavior emerges in national institutions. This does not mean that young people are the problem. On the contrary, Kenya's youth remain one of its greatest assets. They are intelligent, innovative, energetic, and ambitious. Across the country, young people continue to excel in academics, entrepreneurship, sports, technology, and community service.
The challenge is not youthfulness itself. The challenge is the environment within which young people are being socialized. Parents must reclaim their primary role in raising children. This requires more than paying school fees. It requires active involvement in children's lives. Parents must know their children's friends, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and struggles. They must create safe spaces for honest conversations. They must teach resilience, patience, respect, and responsibility.
Schools also have an important role to play. Educational institutions should strengthen guidance and counseling programs. Students need opportunities to express concerns constructively. School administrations should encourage open communication and participatory decision-making where appropriate.
Religious institutions must equally rise to the occasion. Churches, mosques, and other faith-based organizations have historically played a critical role in moral formation. They remain uniquely positioned to promote values such as integrity, self-discipline, respect, and peaceful conflict resolution. Government agencies must also address systemic challenges that contribute to unrest. Overcrowded schools, inadequate facilities, academic pressure, and limited counseling services can create environments where frustrations build up. Addressing these challenges requires investment, planning, and continuous engagement with stakeholders.
Most importantly, society must reject the normalization of destruction. We should never celebrate or justify acts of vandalism simply because they arise from genuine grievances. Legitimate concerns deserve attention, but the methods used to address them matter. Burning institutions is not activism. Destroying property is not leadership. Violence is not dialogue.
History has shown repeatedly that lasting solutions emerge from engagement, negotiation, and mutual understanding. The greatest leaders in the world are not remembered for the institutions they destroyed but for the institutions they built. They are celebrated for bringing people together, not for tearing communities apart.
As a nation, we must teach our children that disagreement is normal. Frustration is normal. Conflict is normal. What matters is how we respond to those challenges. A mature society encourages dialogue instead of destruction. A responsible citizen seeks solutions instead of revenge. A future leader protects institutions instead of burning them.
Kenya stands at a critical crossroads. The growing wave of student unrest should serve as a warning sign that deeper societal issues require urgent attention. The solution does not lie in blaming schools alone, nor does it lie in blaming children alone. It lies in collective responsibility. Parents must parent. Teachers must teach and guide. Religious leaders must mentor. Government must support. Communities must participate. Only through a coordinated national effort can we reverse the worrying trends we are witnessing today.
The schools that are burning today are symbols of a larger challenge confronting our society. They force us to confront uncomfortable questions about values, parenting, responsibility, and citizenship. The answers may not be easy, but one thing is certain: no nation can build a prosperous future by allowing a culture of destruction to take root among its young people. Our children deserve better. Our schools deserve better. And Kenya deserves better.
The writer is a political analyst, leadership and governance expert
