Parents at the coastal city of Mombasa, have been urged to take absolute responsibility for their children’s safety and moral upbringing during this long school holiday season.
The long end-of-year school holiday for basic education institutions runs from October 26, 2026, to January 1, 2027, following the close of term three.
Mombasa politician, Said Abdalla, popularly known as ‘Saido’ challenged parents and guardians to keep their children occupied during the long holiday period.
“Parents, teachers, leaders and the society in general should come together and keep our children occupied and safe during the extended holiday season,” he said, adding that keeping children safe is a shared responsibility.
He added ‘children should be encouraged to engage in meaningful activities that would keep them safe and away from social vices such as crime and drug and substance abuse,’.
Abdalla said keeping children safe during long holidays requires balancing active digital supervision, open communication and structured engagement.
Mombasa faces a significant crisis with drug and substance abuse, particularly affecting school-going children with statistics from the County Department of Health indicating that 25 percent of youth aged 15–24 in the County use drugs, a figure drastically higher than the national average of 6 percent.
Stakeholders contend that during long school holidays, the lack of guidance leaves children vulnerable to peer pressure, idle experimentation, and targeted marketing by drug peddlers.
Abdalla who is a leading contender for the Nyali parliamentary seat warned that leaving children idle and unsupervised exposes them to significant social risks such as negative peer pressure, inappropriate online content, drug and substance abuse and exploitation.
The parliamentary hopeful expressed his unwavering commitment to strengthening education at all levels if elected Nyali MP in the August 10,2027 General Election.
Abdalla said if elected MP he will prioritize and invest in basic education in the vast constituency, stating that a strong educational foundation remained essential to shaping the minds and future of children.
“I will work with all and sundry to advance the quality of education and improve educational outcomes across Nyali constituency,” he said.
The aspiring MP expressed his commitment to prioritize investment in education, describing the sector as a catalytic investment in Kenya’s future.
He warned that the country’s development cannot be sustained without a strong foundation in quality education.
He said the long school break often leads to idle time and thus parents and guardians face the challenge of protecting their children from external societal vulnerabilities such as exposure to illicit substances.
The parliamentary aspirant noted that parents should see the long school breaks as an opportunity to ‘instill some moral and family values’ in their children, exhorting them to allow them stay with them during the holidays.
Abdalla was speaking to the media after launching a success card distribution, revision materials and encouragement tokens to all candidates across Nyali constituency wishing them the very best as they prepare for their forthcoming examinations.
He said during long school holidays, children step outside the structured and protective environment of the classroom, exposing them to various community-level risks.
The 2026 national examination and assessment season is officially underway, administered by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) for a record 3,634,846 candidates.
KNEC has officially launched the 2026 national examination season with 3.634,846 million learners set to sit assessments across the three levels with Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba warning against exam malpractices.
The exam levels include Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA),taken at the end of Grade 6 to facilitate transition from upper primary to junior secondary school, Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) taken in Junior School (Grade 9) combining school-based assessments (SBA) and summative assessments across core subjects and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) administered at the end of Form 4 (the final year of the traditional 8-4-4 secondary cycle), determining placement into universities and tertiary colleges.
The Education CS said strict measures are in place to protect the integrity of the exams contending that exam malpractices if unchecked could erode trust in the country’s national qualifications.
Abdalla decried that many parents in Mombasa were no longer playing their parental roles as they should, describing the situation as ‘unfortunate’.
“People should not completely relinquish their roles as parents to teachers which is not a good thing at all,” he said.
Maweni Junior Primary and Secondary school principal Saumu Salim urged parents and guardians to help their children participate in positive activities within their communities.
She said during the school holiday period where children spend more time at home their safety, wellbeing, and development become a shared responsibility.
“Parents must know where their children are, who they spend time with and what activities they are involved in to ensure that they don’t fall into bad company,” said the headmistress.
Saumu urged parents and guardians to allow their children to learn some new skills during the holidays as envisaged by the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system.
“Parents should keep their children busy, productive and engaged without causing burnout,” she said.
by Hussein Abdullahi
