Students have learnt how to survive attacks

Loosampurpur primary school pupils  return a  Black board to the only semi-permanent classroom which also serves  as a store after the days  lessons  in Makutani division [PHOTO: KIPSANG JOSEPH/STANDARD]

Kenya: Students in bandit-prone areas learn early what to do when the sound of gunfire disrupts the serenity of their learning environment.

“We hide behind desks. If the raiders come around, we dash to open grounds, where we apply survival tricks and then escape,” says a student of Kiserian Secondary School.

The school, with 430 students, was the only one not attacked at the height of the inter-community raids in June. The attacks followed the killing of two people seeking refuge in schools at Sirata Village.

In what were termed as revenge attacks, the raiders went on the rampage in Mukutani division, forcing the closure of several schools, including Sokotei, Loitip, Lorok, Kiserian, Mukutani, Rugus and Noosukro.

Kiserian Secondary School principal Thomas Lenongonop did not want to talk about training students to survive the attacks.

“This is a teaching and learning education facility. Students are taught all skills necessary,” says Lenongonop.

However, David Lenoi Lechamagany, the assistant education officer in Mukutani Division, says teachers in the area teach students manoeuvres that minimise casualties during attacks.

“Students should be trained to save their lives in case of an attack, rather than leaving them to their own measures. However, this does not mean learners are equipped with military-like skills,” he says.

Defensive measures for students include lying on cold cement floors for several hours until the vicinity is declared safe.

In the aftermath of the displacements in Kiserian and Mukutani, there has been  fierce debate about how the community should protect learners.

Some parents have proposed that armed guards be stationed at all vulnerable schools in the region.