Four students of The Sacred Heart Mukumu School Girls School have been hospitalized after failing ill as two were discharged.
This comes five days after the school reopened. Mukumu Girls was closed indefinitely early last month following the deaths of three students and a teacher who allegedly consumed contaminated water and food.
Two of the learners have been discharged from St. Elizabeth Mukumu Mission Hospital the hospital after they were diagnosed with malaria and two are discharged after falling ill with malaria.
The learners complained of abdominal pain and fatigue after reporting to school with the school administration maintaining that the students reported to the school while still under medication and some were yet to recover.
Mukumu Principal Sister Jane Mmbone told the Standard that three students were taken ill and admitted to the hospital by their parents, one of the learners was also admitted today morning with two being discharged after falling ill with Malaria.
"There is no cause for alarm because the two students with malaria have been discharged and are responding well same to the three who are admitted, one this morning was taken to hospital by her parent, therefore there is nothing to worry about, "said Mmbone.
"We told parents not to bring students who are still under medication and unwell but there are those who reported while unwell and under medication that is why I did not take chances and took them to the hospital."
The principal said that most of the learners came back to school while under medication despite the school's advice to parents not to bring back their children to school when they are not fully recovered.
Ms Mmbone indicated that they resorted to one water supplier and seized other water entities for the purpose of accountability.
"We have put in place what the Ministry of Education and Health directed us to do and moving forward we are going to have one water supplier who is Kakamega County Water and Sanitation Company to supply us with water and we have seized all other water entities in order to have accountability for the company and school in case of any issue that will arise," she added.
Contaminated food and water were cited as the cause of the deaths in the school around the time Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu and his health counterpart Susan Nakhumicha visited Mukumu Girls on April 3.
The school Principal said they have already installed the Sh 6milion water purifier to ensure water is clean.
"We are very serious and committed to ensuring what happened last time does not recur and that is why a water purifier has been installed, we have overhauled the entire water system and we will be using water from one source only," she added.
She added that they have changed all food suppliers and they have new food consignment for the entire term.
The 73 tons of the alleged contaminated food was destroyed in Bamburi Cement Factory in Mombasa.
During the reopening of school on May 8th, students were subjected to counseling by psychiatrists and psychologists for a whole week and their medical history was recorded.
So far 1,900 out of 2018 students have already reported to the school according to the principal.
