Bridging the Perception-Security Gap: Closed Circuit Television Surveillance in School Safety in Public Boarding Secondary Schools in Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

 School safety is widely considered a hallmark of effective education, yet traditional security measures are constantly being challenged by emerging internal and external threats. In the Kenya case, schools were constantly on alert against terror and student arson attacks from 2015 to 2018. The purpose of the study was thus to investigate the impact of CCTV surveillance technology on the school safety of public boarding secondary schools in Meru County, Kenya. Using a descriptive survey research design, the study sought to examine: the impact of CCTV surveillance technology on student safety; and the challenges faced in implementing CCTV surveillance technology in schools for safety. Interview schedules and questionnaires were administered to 246 respondents, including students, security guards, and principals, to help gather the relevant data. The study established that the main role of CCTV surveillance technology was monitoring students’ activities and deterring offenders. While 100% of principals endorsed CCTV as a vital deterrent, only 24.5% of students perceived it as significantly enhancing their personal safety. The findings reveal a critical trust gap exacerbated by punitive surveillance perceptions and the identified vulnerability of dormitories and perimeter fences. The study identifies that CCTV effectiveness is frequently hampered by high maintenance costs and a lack of specialized personnel. Furthermore, the study situates these findings within the 2025/2026 legal framework, noting that most institutions remain non-compliant with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) Guidance Note on Children’s Data (2025). The article concludes that for technology to be effective, schools must transition from passive monitoring to a human-centric privacy-by-design security ecosystem. Recommendations include the integration of technology-driven anomaly detection, the establishment of school-level Data Protection Policies, and the fostering of soft security through improved student-teacher dialogue to mitigate the psychological tensions of surveillance. Other suggested alternative measures include proper fencing of schools and the hiring of additional security personnel.