Shock of Kenyan school dormitories without safety measures

Mzee William Nyairo assists in carrying away burned school desk at King David academy in Kisii town's Mwembe area on July 13, 2015 after fire of unknown source gutted down the whole school the previous night with nothing salvaged. [PHOTO: DENISH OCHIENG/ STANDARD]

NAIROBI: Just how safe are your children or siblings in schools, especially boarders?

Do learning institutions have fire-fighting equipment?

Are they well fenced with sufficient security personnel posted at the gates and other strategic areas at night?

What safeguards are there to avoid entry of drugs and other illicit substances into the schools?

By sparing the rod, have we led the children turn into young rogues drawing and living by their rules, especially once they leave school?

Do dormitories have emergency exits and how frequent are the drills to help the young ones in case a situation necessitating evacuation arises any time of the day.

These are hard questions The Standard asked across the country in a survey prompted by recent cases of arson and death in schools as well as shocking cases of drunken and sexual orgies involving secondary school students as was reported in Central Kenya last week.

The survey revealed shocking cases of schools without gates or fences and little or no security at night.

In other cases, some dormitories were found to have no emergency exits, meaning in case evacuation becomes necessary, this may be hampered because the dorms are just death cages in waiting. Some are in fact locked from outside by those employed to watch over the young ones.

But in a few cases, there was clear evidence the school managements had taken the safety of the children seriously, with staff putting up with students of same sex in the dorms so as to help if emergency situation arises. Others had good disaster preparedness programmes and stern measures that ensure discipline is upheld and infiltration of unwanted substances discouraged and offender punished if found.

The Education ministry blames schools for resisting implementation of guidelines intended to guarantee the safety of students in the institutions.

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi argues the measures to curb unrest and improve safety in schools were detailed in reports by task forces led by educationists Naomi Wangai and David Koech in 2001 and 2008 respectively.

The recommendations were made in response to horrific cases of violent unrest witnessed in schools that peaked with the burning of dormitories and killing of children in 2008, prompting the ministry to develop the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya.

Among the cases that stirred the nation's conscience was one involving St Kizito Mixed Secondary School in Meru in 1991 when 19 girls died after their male counterparts invaded and gang-raped them. The boys further set the dormitory on fire.

In 1999, students set ablaze prefects' cubicle at Nyeri High School, killing four. In 2001, 68 boys were burnt to death at Kyanguli Secondary School in Machakos. In the same year in Bombolulu Girls at the Coast, 58 children died in a dormitory fire.

The worrying trend is creeping back with the recent deaths of three students of Stephjoy Boys High school in Limuru in suspected arson. Three students are facing murder charges.

At least 20 schools in the Coast region have been burnt in the last one month and close to 100 students charged with offences relating to arson in Kilifi and Taita Taveta counties.

Student unrest has also seen 11 dormitories razed down in Bungoma County in the past six months and more cases are reported across the country.

A spot check across schools by The Standard reveals sheer negligence of the set regulations.

Among the contentious proposals in the Wangai and Koech reports was the banning of the ranking of students in national examinations, scrapping of mock examinations and discontinuation of holiday tuition.

The Koech Report recommended the banning of mobile phones arguing the use of the gadgets had allowed students to coordinate criminal acts.

It also recommended that the dormitory windows must be without grilles and should be easy to open outwards.

The guidelines say that the space between the beds should be at least 1.2 metres while the corridor or pathway space should not be less than two metres.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) officials yesterday accused the ministry of not making follow-up on the directives.

"It is unfortunate that when schools are burnt and students killed, that is when the ministry speaks about these safety guidelines. They never follow up," said Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori.

Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion argued the ministry's focus was misdirected.

"They spend more time fighting teachers instead of helping them protect children in schools," claimed Mr Sossion.

The issue of school fires and indiscipline featured at the just-concluded Kenya Primary School Head Teachers Association's delegates conference in Mombasa. Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang accused parents of neglecting their responsibilities.