The Kiambu County administration has launched a strict security crackdown on basic learning institutions violating official operating hours, linking the trend to a worrying rise in regional child welfare violations.
In a formal statement, Kiambu County Commissioner Mr. George Matundura has directed all Deputy County Commissioners to enforce immediate compliance with national education guidelines to safeguard students.
The urgent directive follows alarming revelations from a regional stakeholders’ consultative forum on Sexual and Gender-based violence, suicide, and child welfare issues held at Nyeri Polytechnic last week.
The forum established that the deliberate flouting of official school hours by basic education institutions was a primary contributing factor to the regional increase in defilement cases, teenage pregnancies, and missing children.
By keeping learners late or demanding extremely early arrivals, institutions have left day scholars highly vulnerable to predators on dark roads during early mornings and late evenings.
To eliminate these safety risks, the county has reiterated the strict timelines anchored under Article 84 of the Basic Education Regulations, 2015, where the legal operating hours for all-day public and private institutions are restricted to Monday through Friday.
Official class hours must run strictly from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm, followed immediately by co-curricular activities between 3:30 pm and 4:45 pm. Crucially, the statement mandates that no day institution is permitted to require learners to report to school earlier than 7:15 am.
Furthermore, Commissioner Matundura warned that the era of leniency is officially over, where, despite school principals and head teachers being fully aware of these legal parameters, many have continued to push the boundaries at the expense of children’s safety.
He added that moving forward, sub-county administrative teams would closely monitor schools, and institutional heads would personally be held liable for any violations that would happen under their watch.
The directive highlights a growing need for administrative accountability in local child protection, with the county ensuring strict enforcement as a critical step in turning institutional compliance into a shield for vulnerable learners, especially those in day learning institutions.
By Hellen Lunalo
