Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said the cause of the 2:00 a.m. (2300 GMT, Friday) fire at Moi Girls School in Nairobi's Kibera area has not been established in a police initiated investigation.
Matiang'i, who visited the school, said the seven are said to have suffered suffocation during a commotion to escape from the burning dormitory, Xinhua news agency reported.
The school will be closed for two weeks for investigations, Matiang'i said. "It's a tragedy. We have asked the school principal to send a message to your parents to pick you up."
Kibera Administration Police bosses, Enos Maloba, said 10 students suffered suffocation from smoke and fainted, but were rushed to nearby health facilities.
Maloba said they suspect the cause of the fire was an electric fault, adding that they have dispatched a team to the school to investigate the incident.