Barely a week after reopening, students at the Chebwagan Boys High School in Kericho are back at their homes after they held protests on the night of Sunday, January 11.
According to reports, the Kericho County Director of Education ordered the indefinite closure of the institution to neutralise the situation.
The director attributed the strike to students' anger over the administration's alleged failure to uphold dietary standards for Form Four candidates who sat the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations last year.
Additionally, the unrest is said to have been fuelled by dissatisfaction among students over the school’s current administration, following poor performance in last year’s national examinations.
Videos obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed the students storming out of the school gate carrying their belongings while being supervised by police officers who were deployed to assess the situation on Monday, January 12, morning.
It remains unclear whether the students went on a rampage and whether any property within the school premises was destroyed during the strike.
In an unexpected turn, residents living near the school reportedly rushed to the institution upon hearing about the strike, in a bid to help calm tensions and prevent extensive damage.
The High School administration is yet to issue a formal response on the strike amid a wave of uncertainty on when the students will resume their learning.
The incident occurred barely a week into the first term, following a nearly two-month-long school holiday.
Schools will continue with learning for the next 13 weeks before breaking for a three-week holiday starting April 2. Learners will then proceed to the April recess and are scheduled to return for the second term on April 27, 2026.
According to the Ministry of Education, schools will observe a mid-term break from February 25 to March 1, 2026, allowing learners and teachers a five-day break before classes resume for the rest of the term.
