Kisumu’s Otieno Oyoo School shut as students demand break

Otieno Oyoo Secondary School in Nyando, Kisumu County has been indefinitely closed after students threatened to riot if they are not given a break.

The school’s Principal Solomon Sisuma said the management decided to send the 820 students home after tension started building Friday.

"We told the students to go home and (that) they will be informed when to come back to school," he said.

He said the decision was reached after a meeting of the school's board of management on Saturday morning in consultation with the Education office.

Mr Sisuma said they decided to shut down the school to avoid possible destruction of property.

MUTUAL AGREEMENT

"Because we didn’t want this to turn [ugly], we addressed the students and agreed mutually that they leave the school and they will be called back after the resolution of the impending issues," he said.

According to a source, the students had written leaflets complaining that they are taking too much time on academics.

The trend was also witnessed at Maranda High School which was indefinitely closed last week to avoid a possible strike by the students.

The students gave a notice that they would strike if their grievances are not addressed.

The issues they wanted addressed include waking up too early for morning preps and going to bed very late, poor diet among other issues.

Kisumu Girls High School was also closed after students went on rampage and destroyed school property. They also damaged their principal's vehicle.

The students had raised concerns over lack of freedom to worship, lack of entertainment and bad food.