MPs are calling for clearer regulations on student discipline and school safety.
The National Assembly’s Education Committee wants the Ministry of Education to clarify how schools should handle violent students.
MPs have urged the Ministry of Education to develop clear student discipline rules amid concerns over school violence and teacher safety.
The National Assembly’s Education Committee says the proposed Basic Education Bill, 2026, does not adequately address violent behaviour. Committee chairperson Julius Melly raised the concern during a stakeholders’ engagement on seven education reform Bills on November 3.
Melly questioned Clause 19, arguing that it protects learners without clearly setting out disciplinary measures for schools.
MPs press for student discipline rules
Melly said teachers face safety risks when students become violent, while legal protections for learners limit teachers’ response. He argued that schools were becoming difficult to govern and called for clearer guidance for administrators.
He also raised concerns about incidents in which students allegedly set fellow learners on fire. Melly urged the ministry to make discipline a priority and establish clear regulations to help schools manage such cases.
Meanwhile, Council of Legal Education chairperson Collins Odote supported the push for new regulations. He said the current disciplinary framework was not working and needed further attention. Odote also acknowledged difficulties with the existing system, backing calls for the ministry to do more.
Ministry outlines protections against harsh punishment
In response, Education Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa said the Education Cabinet Secretary would need to develop regulations. These would outline how schools should handle disciplinary cases.
Ololtuaa also drew lawmakers’ attention to the protections in Clause 19, subsections 2 and 3. He said these provisions prohibit corporal punishment, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The protections cover both physical and psychological harm.
The debate comes about two decades after Kenya abolished corporal punishment in schools, including caning as a disciplinary measure. Under the law, anyone who breaches the prohibition commits an offence. A conviction carries a fine of up to Ksh100,000, imprisonment for up to six months, or both.
