Ministry of Education to crack down on school transport violations

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok during Malava Constituency Teachers’ Engagement Forum held at Tande Secondary School on August 6, 2025. Courtesy

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok has issued a nationwide crackdown on schools defying the Traffic (Amendment) Act 2017, which restricts school bus operations to between 6 am and 6 pm.

Speaking while opening the 97th Kenya Music Festival at Meru School, Bitok said no  school bus should be allowed on roads before or after the stipulated time.

“This is not just about the Music Festivals. It is the law, and it applies everywhere. This is a reminder lest people forget. The Ministry will not compromise the learners’ safety under any circumstances,” Bitok said.

Bitok directed all regional, county, and sub-county education directors to ensure schools comply fully with the law or face dire consequences.

The PS’s directive follows rogue school drivers which continues to flout traffic rules unabated, which continues to haunt the education sector.

In February 2016, 11 students from St. Mary's Nyamagwa Girls' High School perished in Kisii when their school bus, ferrying them late in the evening, collided head-on with a truck.

A year later, in July 2017, tragedy struck again when 10 students from a primary school in Nakuru died on the spot after their bus rolled while returning from a music competition after sunset.

It was these and other accidents that prompted the 2017 amendment of the Traffic Act, introducing restricted hours for school transport in a bid to prevent night-time travel that often exposed children to fatigued drivers, poor visibility, and mechanical risks.

Yet, enforcement has remained sporadic until now.

“I am instructing all officers to crack down on any institution violating the rule,” Bitok said, noting that recent reports show many school buses are still operating well past the legal limit.