Enforce rules to keep our children safe at school

Following a number of fires that gutted schools in the recent past, leaving tens of learners dead and properties worth hundreds of millions reduced to ashes, government conducted a countrywide investigation to determine the cause of the fires.

The year-long investigation, whose report was released this week, revealed that most fires were deliberate acts of arson.

The National Building Review Board (NBRB), that conducted the investigation between May 2022 and May 2023, also cited negligence among students, poor maintenance of school property, congestion in dormitories, and lack of fire-fighting equipment, among others.

A day after the report was released, it came to light that the Ministry of Education and Sports had issued tough guidelines for schools that operate boarding facilities to follow before second term starts next month.

The guidelines include installing CCTV cameras, maintaining separate food storage areas from other stores, and ensuring ample food supply capable of sustaining the students for at least one month. 

The rules directly related to school fires include having guards stationed on 24-hour guard duty, and boosted by workers with basic security training and stationed within the dormitories.

They also include proper electrical wiring with regular power audits, functional fire extinguisher on every block of the dormitories, at least two clearly marked emergency exits in each dormitory, no burglar-proofed windows, and appropriate space between beds to ease movement.

Ms Ketty Lamaro, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education in the April 19 circular, said any school found to be non-compliant and operating below 50 percent of the set rules would be shut down. 

But the proprietors of private schools quickly expressed misgivings, saying the guidelines will be impracticable to put in place in only one month before the Second Term begins.

We commend government for coming out with these guidelines and hope it will be the silver bullet to the menace that had bedevilled our learning institutions.

But for the guidelines to serve their purpose, they must be enforced without discrimination. We appeal to all the authorities, including those at the districts, to desist from putting “kitu kidogo” (bribes) ahead of the safety of learners.

These guidelines should have come out yesterday, as the private school owners have put it. Having all these implemented within a month seems impractical. We appeal for a realistic timeframe so that even poorer schools get all requirements.

Finally, the success of these guidelines will depend on the vigilance and goodwill of the public. We have to be our children’s keepers. It is enforcement of these guidelines that will keep them safe.