Education CS Prof George Magoha on Monday morning visited Precious Talent School in Dagoretti after seven lives were lost following the collapse of a two-storey building in the facility.
Speaking to journalists after investigating the extent of the damage, Magoha was put to task on whether the school had violated the official reporting time considering the tragedy happened some minutes to 7am.
In his response, the CS noted that the ministry is very clear on school opening hours and if the school violated that there will be consequences.
“We are clear on the school opening hours and if this was violated, someone should be answerable to someone,” he said.
The official school hours for all public and private day primary and secondary schools is 8am to 3:30pm (class hours) and 3:30pm to 4.45pm for games and clubs.
According to the CS, 64 students were admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital with two of them requiring close attention while the rest sustained soft tissue injuries.
"We have received 64 pupils injured in the Precious Talent School tragedy. Two of them- a boy and a girl- are in critical condition. The rest are in stable condition," Kenyatta National Hospital said in a statement.
Six hundred students underwent medical checks at the nearby St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the CS confirmed that they are ok.
Prof. Magoha refuted claims that there was a lack of public schools in Ng’ando arguing that the nearest primary public school from the scene is two kilometers away and proximity should be put into considerations instead of boarders.
“The issue should not be the boarders of the wards; the issue should be the proximity of the schools to where the learners live.”
According to the Youth leader in Ng’ando area Mandela Nelson, there is no public utility in the area and they had raised the issue with the national and county government but the concerns were not considered until the tragedy today.
The CS, however, said that the government will work in establishing one primary school in the area.
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“We will commit as government to construct a primary school in Ng’ando. By whatever means possible we shall ensure that land is made available.”
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