Kisumu National Polytechnic Closed Indefinitely After Week-Long Student Unrest

Kisumu, Kenya – September 20, 2025: Kisumu National Polytechnic has been closed indefinitely following a week of student unrest triggered by claims of a school fee hike. The closure affects more than 1,600 students who were ordered to vacate the institution on Friday after days of running battles with security personnel.

The protests began on Monday, September 15, when students boycotted classes, accusing the administration of increasing fees without consulting them or their guardians. “This is going to put an extra burden on our parents and guardians who are already struggling in these hard economic times,” students said in a joint statement.

However, Chief Principal Catherine Kelonye dismissed the allegations, stating that no unilateral decision had been made. She emphasized that all policies and financial adjustments at the institution are discussed with stakeholders before implementation.

During the protests, students blocked nearby roads, pelting stones at vehicles and engaging police in running confrontations. In a memo, Ms. Kelonye, who also serves as secretary to the polytechnic council, said the environment had become untenable for learning. “We are looking at all the issues raised by the students’ leadership and will resolve them soon so that normal learning resumes at the polytechnic,” the memo read.

Unrest in Kenyan learning institutions is not new, with experts attributing the recurring strikes to lack of dialogue between school authorities and students, poor decision-making structures, excessive disciplinary powers given to prefects, and academic pressure surrounding national examinations.

The crisis at Kisumu National Polytechnic comes at a time when the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) is also on strike, demanding over KSh 11.5 billion in unpaid arrears from government Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs). Despite a court order halting the strike on Friday to allow for conciliation, UASU has vowed to continue with the industrial action, further paralyzing learning across public universities.