Nairobi, June 3 -- On what should have been an ordinary night, with assingments done and lights out, students at Utumishi Academy allegedly set their dormitory on fire. Nine suspects, all fellow students are in custody over the arson.

The instinct, as always, is to call this an isolated incident. To blame a few bad apples. To prosecute, suspend, and move on. We are good at that in Kenya. What we are less good at is asking the uncomfortable question underneath: why does this keep happening?

Because it does keep happening. Over the past two decades, Kenya has recorded dozens of school unrest incidents, from fires and strikes to destruction of property and physical confrontations.

Education authorities and school administrators agree: the...