Striking Students Not Allowed For Transfer to Other Schools, To Sit Exams From Home Under New State’s Stringent Rules

The government has moved to seal loopholes that have allowed indisciplined students to escape consequences by transferring to other schools, as education authorities intensify the crackdown on learners involved in school unrest.

In a hard-hitting directive that signals zero tolerance for student riots, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has declared that candidates involved in serious indiscipline cases will be barred from sitting their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations within school premises, forcing them to write their papers at alternative centres.

The announcement comes as the Ministry of Education grapples with a wave of destruction that has swept across secondary schools, particularly in the South Rift region, where more than 10 institutions have been hit by violence that has destroyed property worth hundreds of millions of shillings.

But in a move that tightens the noose further, the Kericho County Director of Education has issued a stern circular blocking principals from admitting students who are fleeing other schools after participating in strikes.

The directive, dated September 30, 2025, warns that some principals have been flouting transfer guidelines by admitting students with serious discipline issues that have not been handled by their respective Boards of Management.

“It has been noted that some Principals are flouting the above guidelines and admitting students who are changing schools after being involved in strikes,” reads the circular signed by Julius A. Ngoneshi, County Director of Education for Kericho.

The new rules require that no school shall admit a student without a proper letter of transfer signed by the appropriate education officer, with release letters now mandated to clearly state the conduct of students concerned.

Any principal who covers up a student’s conduct will be held responsible for subsequent problems.

CS Ogamba has made it clear that the days of students destroying school property and walking away scot-free are over. Speaking during a press briefing, he emphasized that such acts are criminal in nature and perpetrators will face the full force of the law.

“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,” Ogamba said.

The stringent measures will apply not only to examination candidates but also to Form Two and Form Three students, who will be required to learn from home if found guilty of involvement in unrest.

However, the CS outlined that established legal processes must be followed before any expulsion, including disciplinary proceedings involving parents and students.

Principal Secretary for Basic Education Prof Julius Bitok warned that no student will be allowed to destroy property and escape consequences, adding that rigorous disciplinary action awaits offenders. He has instructed county and sub-county directors of education to remain vigilant and call emergency meetings with teachers and students at the first sign of trouble.

The financial burden of student unrest continues to haunt parents.

In one incident at a national school with 1,800 students, parents were forced to pay Sh2,000 per child after their children torched a dormitory, raising more than Sh3 million for reconstruction. Students who requested transfer letters were denied, and the school remained closed for two weeks.

Schools affected by recent violence include Tengecha Boys, Koiwa Boys, AIC Litein Boys, Kiptewit, Cheptenye Boys and Lelwak Boys, where buildings have been razed and property worth millions destroyed.

National Parents Association chairperson Silas Obuhatsa has backed the government’s hardline stance, saying parents are at a loss paying both school fees and for 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,” Obuhatsa said.

With corporal punishment banned in Kenya, stakeholders are calling for enhanced dialogue between students and teachers to address the root causes of unrest, even as the government maintains its tough position that discipline must be restored in educational institutions at all costs.