Candidates for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations who will be involved serious indiscipline cases, will be forced to sit for the papers outside the school compound.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Ogamba has issued the stern warning to learners involved in acts of indiscipline, in the wake of a wave of unrest that has seen a number of secondary schools closed and property worth millions of shillings destroyed.
He said that such acts are criminal in nature and that such students will be barred from taking their examinations within school premises.
Mr Ogamba stressed the government's commitment to restoring discipline in educational institutions, warning that any student found to have engaged in destruction of school property will be required to sit for their final exams at alternative centres.
The stringent disciplinary measures against students involved in school unrest will apply not only to examination candidates but also to those in Form Two and Form Three, who will be required to learn from home if found guilty. However, Mr Ogamba outlined the established legal process that must be followed before any expulsion takes place.
"You can expel a student, but it is after disciplinary proceedings. Once somebody is determined to have done something wrong, you undertake that disciplinary proceeding, and if, at the conclusion of it, the disciplinary committee decides that this student needs to be expelled for what they have done, then you expel them," the CS stated.
He cited recent cases where some students who were involved burning down buildings in schools or stealing have been arrested.
"These students are now in custody. It is a crime. There has to be a process of ensuring the child is disciplined. You have to weigh: do you leave the student to burn the school because he or she has a right to education? Let the chips fall where they may," said the CS.
Mr Ogamba said that if an undisciplined student is due to sit for exams, they will be required to do so from alternative centres outside the institution. If they are in Form Two or Form Three, they will be expected to learn from home.
"School rules have to be adhered to. The process must include a hearing involving parents and students, and an agreement must be reached," he added.
The Principal Secretary for Basic Education Prof Julius Bitok emphasised that no student will be allowed to destroy property and escape consequences, adding that they will be taken through rigorous disciplinary action.
"We have given firm instructions to our county and sub-county directors of education to be on top of the game. If they suspect there is any school that is likely to cause disturbance, they should be able to arrest and call meetings with the teachers and students as soon as possible to counter any intended destruction of property," said the PS.
Prof Bitok called on all stakeholders, including parents and religious leaders, to remain vigilant.
"This is a very delicate term, and we do not want any disturbance in our schools. We know some of the disturbances are caused by stress and so on, but we must remain vigilant," said the PS.
The financial burden of unrest remains a concern for parents. Usually, they are surcharged to cater for damages their children cause when they riot. A parent told Nation that they made to pay more than Sh3 million when their children torched a school dormitory.
"We paid Sh2,000 per child when they burnt down a dorm; to construct a new one. Those who asked for transfer letters were denied. The school, which has a population of 1,800 students was closed for two weeks," said the parent of a student in Form 4 in a national school who sought anonymity.
According to a teacher, two students who were implicated were arrested and arraigned.
"It is said they sneaked in petrol and torched the dormitory. They went home for two weeks, but upon resuming, each student paid Sh2,000, which we used to construct a new dormitory," said the teacher.
The South Rift region has been most affected, with more than 10 schools hit by a wave of violence and destruction of property estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of shillings. Some of the schools affected include Tengecha Boys, Koiwa Boys', AIC Litein Boys, Kiptewit and Cheptenye Boys' and Lelwak Boys.
A chair of a school board of management in Kilifi County, Jacob Konde, blamed poor performance in schools on indiscipline.
"Give us a direction on how to handle students unrest and the rogue elements in schools," Mr Konde said last week during a meeting in Kilifi.
The National Parents Association chairperson, Mr Silas Obuhatsa, supported the government's decision to keep errant learners away from schools.
"Parents are at a loss, paying school fees and for the properties destroyed by their children. We do not allow students to destroy school property; it is illegal. If they are found culpable with evidence, the State must take stiff measures; we support the government," said Mr Obuhatsa.
Since corporal punishment is banned in Kenya, he called for dialogue between students and teachers.
