INFLUENCE OF STUDENT COUNCILS IN CURBING FREQUENCY OF STUDENT UNRESTS IN PUBLIC BOYS BOARDING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ELGON SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

The Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Education, established Student Councils in Secondary Schools in 2009 to assist schools to manage student affairs. Yet, student unrests which are manifested in strikes, go-slows, rioting, burning of school property and violent behaviors still continue unabated. During the period 2014-2017, schools in Bungoma County, Kenya, witnessed an unprecedented rise in incidences of student unrests leading to destruction of property and loss of life. The problem this study sought to address was the rising number of student unrests in public boys boarding secondary schools in Elgon Sub-county, Kenya. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the influence of student councils in curbing the frequency of student unrests in public boys boarding secondary schools in Elgon Sub-county, Kenya. The study was based on Social Systems Theory. In the conceptual framework, the frequency of student unrests depends on roles played by student councils namely: decision making, communication, disciplinary and guidance and counseling roles. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. There are only 3 Public Boys Boarding Secondary Schools. Therefore, purposive sampling technique was used to sample the three secondary schools. Proportional sampling technique was used to sample respondents of students and members of student councils. The target population for students was 750 while that of members of student councils was 78. Using Krejcie and Morgan Table of determination of sample size, 254 Students and 66 Student Council members constituted the sample size. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample respondents according to the predetermined sample sizes. The study used Likert type Students' Questionnaire and Questionnaire for Members of Student Councils as research instruments. Descriptive statistics namely, means, frequencies and percentages were computed. Inferential statistics was derived from the data. The instruments were piloted and tested for reliability using test-re-test method.