The Ministry of Education has issued immediate directives to all schools across the country amid several reports of school fire incidents.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos through a press directives, directed all schools to expect mandatory inspection to ensure that all schools adhere to the fire safety protocols outlined in the Safety Standards Manual.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, there will be no procedure or inspection to the schools but it will be impromptu that will be carried out by a multi-agency team from the Ministries of Education, Interior and Health.
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The CS noted that the inspections will provide an opportunity for the government to unearth the reasons behind the recent spate of school fires reported across the country recently.
“It will also help us make appropriate recommendations to remedy the situation, in cases where there are fresh interventions required that are a departure from the indiscipline cases reported in the previous years.”
Other officials that will be involved in the impromptu inspections include officials from the Department of Public Works, officers from the County Governments and those from the Kenya Red Cross who will work together before forwarding recommendations.
Ogamba said that after the inspections, firm and decisive action would be taken against Ministry of Education officials, school administrators and managers found to have flouted the guidelines.
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According to the CS, the first phase of this inspection, which began earlier this week, will cover all boarding primary and junior schools in the country with the second phase of the inspection exercise to be conducted in all secondary schools upon completion of the first phase.
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*How To End Fire Tragedies In Boarding Schools*
We have had commissions formed after such calamaties strike but none is usually implemented.
I know as a matter of fact that once we burry the 21 pupils of Hillside Endarasha Academy it’ll be business as usual because that’s who we are.
Looking at the data provided on boarding schools that have complied with the checklist, my God! It’s a pity I tell you.
Am perplexed that there are schools with triple deckers, my gosh!
Infact there’s need and time to do away with dormitories so that we reconfigure them to manageable modern cubes.
Some schools have dormitories that resemble historical sites.
Then something funny, I was surprised that National Land Commission, NLC personnel travelled all the way to Nyeri to ascertain some authenticity of ownership of the parcel that the academy sits on yet they’re unable to resolve grabbed school parcels in Embakasi South.
This is really uncalled for and Kenya Power did the same.
There can’t be an end to such atrocities if nobody is held to account, and there is no rocket science about this.
The CS Education cannot be everywhere, it’s upon those officers tasked with the duties in their respective zones to take charge or just go home.
May l take this opportunity to send my sincere condolences to the families, friends and Kenyans at large for such a big loss of innocent young lives.
For those in hospital I wish you quick recovery.
It’s my prayer that Endarasha incident closes the chapter of dormitory fires in Kenya.
School heads need to abide by the laid down boarding schools regulations that were drafted after such inconsistencies were experienced in schools.
Eric Ambuche, Founder Slums Outreach Prog Nbi