Observe safety guidelines to end disasters in schools

A dormitory on fire at Teremi Boys High School in Bungoma county. [File, Standard]

In the recent past, Kenya has experienced disasters in schools. These include the collapse of a classroom at Precious Talent Academy in Dagorreti, Nairobi, in September 2019 which claimed seven lives, the Kakamega Primary School stampede in 2020 that claimed 14 lives, the food hygiene calamity that cost the lives of many learners and a dedicated teacher at the Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls School in Kakamega 2023 and now the loss of 21 lives in Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri.

These tragedies occur due to issues such as lack of safe infrastructure like in the case of Precious Hope School, poor crowd management as in the case of Kakamega Primary School, poor food and water hygiene as in the case of Mukumu Girls and poor electrical installation as is alleged to have happened at Hillside School.

Amid such unfortunate incidences, one would want to know who is responsible for ensuring safety in schools. According to the Education Act of 2013 Part X, Section 81, the Education Cabinet Secretary, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, is charged with establishing guidelines for registration and accreditation of educational institutions, both public and private. In ensuring safety, government has reliable data which it can hinge its plan and action. Additionally, the National Education Sector Strategic Plan 2023-2027 outlines the strategic direction of the education sector with a clear vision, mission and strategic goals that should steer the sector to the right direction.

The government has laid down the necessary framework, through sufficient policy documents and directions, to address safety in schools. For instance, the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya of 2008 is a very comprehensive document with guidelines which, if properly observed, may minimise or even eradicate the number of disasters witnessed in schools.

Usawa Agenda, an independent organisation working on education, recently carried out a research on school safety in boarding schools and unearthed poor disaster preparedness, with spacing between students' beds in dormitories below the stipulated guidelines. The report also revealed that less than half of surveyed boarding schools across the country have adhered to the safety guidelines. It was not clear why schools have not been keen on implementing the 2008 Safety Standards as stipulated in the manual for schools.

Further, the report revealed that mixed sub-county schools have the least compliance with only 21.3 per cent of the institutions conforming to the safety guidelines on spacing in the dormitories. Sub-county schools are the most constrained with only 24.6 per cent adhering to the safety guidelines on spacing students' beds in dormitories.

There is, however, no direct relationship between boarding schools and school disasters since both the Precious Talent Academy and Kakamega primary schools are day schools. This rules out the allegation that boarding schools are to blame for the disasters.

The government should use the Usawa report to re-invigorate its Quality Assurance and Standards Department by conducting regular inspections in all schools to ensure compliance. The National Education Board, County Education Boards and all grassroots government agencies in education must not wait for further deaths for them to act. Safety inspections should be done on a termly basis and compliance certificates issued to the schools.

Mr Oyuu is the Knut Secretary General