'Due to Learning Burden...' Kenyan Students Setting Fires at Schools

126 School Arson Cases from January to November Last Year
A Chronic Problem Persisting for Over 30 Years

From January to November last year, the number of school arson cases in Kenya reached 126. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Image=Pixabay

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] It has been revealed that there were 126 cases of school arson in Kenya from January to November last year, resulting in the arrest of 302 students.

On the 6th (local time), the British BBC broadcast reported on the statistics and the reality and causes of the school arson incidents in Kenya, which have continued for 30 years. Last year, the number of arson cases in boarding schools surged, and BBC analyzed that this was because boarding schools operated an intensified curriculum to make up for the reduced learning time due to COVID-19.

In October last year, a 15-year-old student who experienced an arson incident at her girls' high school told BBC in an interview, "I don't know exactly what caused the arson, but students were under academic pressure ahead of the national exams and had strong grievances," adding, "We usually started classes at 4:30 a.m. and had to do self-study until 10 p.m."

The issue of school arson in Kenya is not new. The worst school arson incident occurred 20 years ago in Machakos County, southeast of the capital Nairobi, where 67 students died. Some students were convicted of arson. In 2017, a 14-year-old girl who set fire to Moi Girls' High School in Nairobi, resulting in the deaths of 10 students, was sentenced to five years in prison this year.

In a report released in November last year, the Kenya Ministry of Education cited overcrowded classrooms, poor teacher-student relationships, drug abuse, and inadequate counseling services within schools as causes of the "arson contagion." However, the Ministry pointed out that "parents overprotected their children when they misbehaved, and the law also hindered teachers' ability to discipline students," indicating that the fault does not lie solely with educational institutions. The Ministry proposed placing professional counselors in schools and critically reviewing the role of boarding schools as solutions.

Elizabeth Cooper, a Canadian anthropologist who has studied the issue of school arson in Kenya for several years, said, "School arson is not a problem unique to Kenya, but what is surprising is the frequency, severity, and collective nature."

In an interview with BBC, she said, "These characteristics show that there is some consensus among students about using arson as a means, possibly because setting fire to schools feels somewhat effective," and advised, "It is time to consider a different approach to Kenyan education, which currently enforces obedience on students."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.