The Board of Management at Nyabisase Mixed Secondary School has linked the recent student unrest that led to the burning of a girls’ dormitory to disagreements over the appointment of a new principal.

Speaking after the incident, Board Chairperson Elijah Obwori said the school had planned to receive a new principal following the retirement of the former head teacher at the end of June.

He explained that although a principal arrived with an official posting letter from the Teachers Service Commission, he was not the person the school’s Board of Management and sponsor had proposed.

“The principal who came with the TSC letter was different from the one the board and the sponsor had identified, and that is what triggered the unrest among some students,” Obwori said.

He said the unrest started early in the morning when boys in the lower section refused to attend parade and later ignored instructions from teachers to return to class.

Police officers were called to help restore order after the students became aggressive. The boys later forced open a security gate and entered the girls’ section of the school.

During the chaos, one girls’ dormitory was set on fire. The dormitory accommodates about 200 students, but no injuries were reported because the fire occurred during the day.

Obwori said the school’s CCTV cameras in the boys’ section were destroyed by the students, who covered their faces to avoid being identified.

He said investigators are already gathering evidence and expressed hope that those responsible for the destruction would be brought to justice.

Officials from the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission have postponed the principal’s handover exercise until further notice.

Meanwhile, public works officers are expected to assess the damage caused by the fire before the value of the losses is established. The Board of Management is also expected to meet later this week to determine when learning will resume