By Robert Kiplagat
BARINGO, KENYA: Parents are worried about the safety of children and property in public learning institutions.
The National Parents Association has revealed that over 97 percent of public schools are unsafe and lack appropriate security mechanisms for children and property.
The association’s Secretary General Musau Ndunda said parents are incurring huge losses annually in form of fires, theft and loss of lives caused by the government’s laxity in developing proper security measures in schools.
The association, he said, has drafted school safety and security policy that if implemented,will save the parents the costs of losses,as well as safety of children while at school.
Speaking at Kapropita Girls High school in Baringo County during the schools safety and security seminar,Ndunda said for the last 10 years,public schools have lost over 70million textbooks to thieves as a result of negligence.
“How are our schools prepared to deal with disaster preparedness? currently,97percent of public schools do not have any safety and security mechanisms both for the children and the property,putting the parents in problems,”said Ndunda.
With the Laptop projects by the Jubilee government set to be rolled,he said,the government should first clearly put down the security measures of the gadgets to safeguard the taxpayers money.
“Unless the government comes up with proper security measures to safeguard the laptops being issued to schools, the laptops will be stolen and it will be a great loss to the nation,” he added.
On the health security, the parent’s representative said that the government should come up with school feeding policy to ensure that food being served to school children is healthy adding that no child should fall ill because of unhealthy food issued at school.
The parents’ spokesman also challenged the Education Cabinet Secretary Prof Jacob Kaimenyi to introduce a compulsory personal insurance cover to all children in public schools against road carnage which he said, has claimed several teachers and students.
“We cannot allow any child to die while on school trip due to poorly-serviced or uninsured vehicles and that’s why we are urging the ministry of education to come up with personal insurance of students against accidents,”lamented Ndunda.
