Investing in public day schools will remove need for boarding ones

Kenya Red cross personnel assist the parents who were overwhelmed after following a fire incident at Nyeri County's Hillside Endarasha Academy leaving 19 pupils dead. [Kibata Kihuu, Standard]

My deepest sympathy to the families of those who lost loved ones following a fire at Nyeri’s Endarasha Academy. There can be no words to describe succinctly the anguish felt nor can any atone for the needless loss of lives. If anything, these deaths are a stinging indictment on the country’s education system revealing years of gross neglect and underfunding of the sector.

For starters, no child should ever be separated from their parents in their inchoate years of development. These are crucial years when values are instilled in an atmosphere of family. Yet responsibility, in these formative years, is ceded to institutions that are mostly cold, insensitive and uncaring and that more often than not, are poor substitutes for parental warmth and affection.

In countries of the Global North that are held out as the gold standard of education, boarding schools are the exception rather than the norm. Education is provided by the State rather than the private sector. In the UK, for instance, children must attend day schools that are within a three-kilometre radius from their homes. This obviates the need for costly school transport as pupils are expected to walk to school and back every day. Schools are also well-resourced so there are hardly any advantages gained or lost hopping from one institution to another.

Contrast that with the situation in Kenya. The number of public schools built over the last couple of decades is woefully inadequate in meeting the needs of a country with a fast-growing population. More than six decades after independence, many schools have no classrooms with children exposed to the elements as they learn under trees. Kenya’s current recommended teacher-student ratio is 40 students per teacher. Yet, in many primary schools, it is 70:1. This is significantly higher than the UNESCO recommended ratio of 25:1.

These statistics are what make the prospects of private schools, especially those with boarding facilities, attractive to parents. They promise quality education, nurture and a safe environment for children whose parents are unable to provide the same for some reason or other. But reality is seldom a reflection of what is advertised.

Following numerous fire disasters in public schools, minimum standards have been prescribed by authorities that are never adhered to. For instance, boarding houses must have dormitories that are spacious, well-ventilated and with fire exits on every end. Fire extinguishers must be well placed so that they are easily accessible. Every dorm must have matrons who are on call throughout in case of emergencies. These institutions are also expected to have regular fire drills with designated assembly points where a head count can be made to ensure the safe evacuation from a disaster site of every student.

In 2017, a high-rise fire broke out in the 24-story Grenfell Tower in the UK. More than 70 people lost their lives. It was later established that the cladding used on the building was a major contributor to the disaster as it was made of highly flammable material. That cladding is now banned in the UK. In Kenya, many private school boarding facilities are made of timber or other highly combustible prefabs. With no proper enforcement of approved building codes for schools, they remain a ticking time bomb.

Mr Khafafa is a public policy analyst