Parents back move to close 348 boarding schools

The National Parents Association (NPA) has thrown its weight behind the move by the government to close 348 boarding schools.

The association lauded the move by the Ministry of Education terming it as long overdue. NPA added that affected schools had been given time to address safety concerns.

This came as the Ministry stood its ground that the affected schools will remain closed until they meet the safety standards.

NPA National Secretary General Eskimos Kobia said many minors had died in schools due congestion and lack of safety measures.

He noted that the Ministry had identified gaps in the affected schools before closing them down.

“Every time parents lose their children, the Ministry is blamed but the government has now acted and we fully support this,” he said.

Speaking in Naivasha at the weekend, Kobia added that the association will make sure parents who had paid school fees for next term in the affected schools are fully refunded.

He admitted that the closure could affect some parents and learners.

“Affected schools have been issued with an inspection report highlighting the gaps identified and they should be keen to address this before the first term kicks off,” he said.

But a member of the Kenya Private Schools Association questioned the closure noting that affected schools were not given fair hearing.

The member, who declined to be named, said that plans were underway to get a court order as they had invested millions in the schools.

“The inspection was unfair and some members were unaware of it and only found their names on the list doing rounds in the media,” he said.

He added that hundreds of students from affected schools could miss out on the first term of the year as they were not given a second option after the Ministry closed down the institutions.

“We will seek legal redress over the skewed inspection that favoured public schools as we feel that we have been given a raw deal,” he said.

But speaking earlier, Education CS Julius Ogamba said each of the affected schools was given a report identifying gaps and how they should be rectified.

“There is  a safety manual that each boarding school is supposed to adhere to and this includes making sure there is ample space between beds and installing CCTV cameras,” he said.