This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
On October 17, 2019, the Kenyan Education Ministry unveiled a report highlighting the country's growing concerns about bullying and violence in schools.
According to the report, Kenya ranked among the top countries with the highest levels of bullying in Africa, with 57% of students experiencing bullying on one or more days in a month, as stated in the National Education Sector Strategic Plan for 2018 – 2022.
The report also noted that school unrest has resulted in property destruction and loss of life, with over 120 cases of school arson reported in 2016 alone.
Furthermore, the report indicated that school children in Kenya are increasingly being targeted by extremist organizations, with cases of disappearances and arrests on the rise.
The government attributed these issues to factors such as heavy school work, peer pressure, and a lack of skills among teachers and administrators in detecting early warning signs.
Additionally, the report highlighted the impact of drought on education, with an estimated 250,000 schoolchildren and 8,000 teachers affected annually.
Child labor was also identified as a significant concern, with 1.9 million child laborers in Kenya, representing 17% of minors in the country.
The report also touched on the issue of child pregnancies, with the United Nations Population Fund indicating that close to a quarter of a million adolescent girls in Kenya became pregnant between July 2016 and June 2017.
Regarding drug abuse, the report stated that cases are on the rise, with the median age of children who admit to using bhang being 15, and most of these children being Form Two students undergoing puberty.
