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.