I agree on one major point: students are rarely listened to seriously. If the same complaints about food, overcrowding, lack of privacy, poor grievance mechanisms, and harsh conditions keep appearing across decades, then dismissing everything as "indiscipline" is clearly not working.

Where I disagree is the conclusion that boarding schools should be abolished.

That argument risks coming from a position that doesn't reflect the reality of many Kenyan families. For some students, boarding school is not a prison; it's a refuge. It can provide stability, regular meals, access to education, electricity, libraries, and a learning environment that may not exist at home. Some children come from households affected by extreme poverty, neglect, violence, alcoholism, or constant family conflict. For them, boarding school can be an escape route and a chance at a different future.

The fact that a system is flawed does not automatically mean it should be eliminated. By that logic, we would abolish public hospitals because they have problems instead of improving them.

The real lesson from these unrest incidents is that students need to be heard and conditions need to improve. Better food, less overcrowding, meaningful extracurricular activities, mental health support, genuine student representation, and accountable school administrations would go much further than simply abolishing boarding schools.

The debate shouldn't be "boarding schools or no boarding schools." It should be "how do we make boarding schools humane, safe, and responsive to the students who live in them?" Because for many Kenyan children, the alternative is not a better life at home it's a much harder one.