Students copying bad manners from leaders

A firefighter at Kisumu Boys High School on January 26, 2021 when a fire broke out in a dorm. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

The number of schools torched by students in the recent past is unacceptably high. Since the January 2021 reopening, tens of schools have either experienced strikes or arson. It is as if students longed for the reopening to continue with their unchecked behaviour. 

Before considering possible solutions, let us ask why high students are so obsessed with burning schools or finding answers to their concerns through strikes. There isn’t just one reason children are burning schools.