By Dorothy Musyoka
The government has announced a comprehensive nationwide inspection of all public and private basic learning institutions to evaluate their adherence to established safety guidelines.
The initiative, spearheaded by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, aims to ensure that all schools comply with the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya.
In a statement, CS Ogamba emphasized that the inspections will be carried out in collaboration with various relevant agencies to ensure thorough scrutiny of the safety measures in place across educational institutions.
The CS noted that while most schools have complied with the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya, some institutions have failed to follow the guidelines relating with the recent fire tragedy at Hillside Endarasha Academy.
“The recent incident at Hillside Endarasha Academy, Nyeri County, in which 21 innocent learners lost their lives as a result of a fire tragedy, has underscored the need for the government and schools managers to firmly enforce school safety guidelines at all times, if we are to avoid a recurrence of similar cases in the future,” noted the CS.
The crackdown is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to safeguard the welfare of students and maintain a secure and conducive learning environment.
“It has therefore become necessary for the Ministry of Education, jointly with relevant agencies, to conduct an urgent country inspection of all public and private basic learning institutions to assess their levels of compliance with the guidelines of the safety standards manual for schools in Kenya,” stated CS Gambia.
“The first phase of this inspection, which started this week, will cover all boarding primary and junior schools in the country, while the second phase of the inspection exercise will cover secondary schools,” added the CS.
The CS also noted that the inspection will give the government adequate time to investigate the causes of the fire outbreaks in schools.
“The inspection will also provide an opportunity for the government to unearth reasons behind the recent spate of school fires that have been reported in a few schools in the country, and make appropriate recommendations to remedy the situation, in cases where there are fresh interventions required that are a departure from the indiscipline cases reported in the previous years,” stated CS Ogamba.
The Education CS emphasized that strict and decisive measures will be enforced against Ministry of Education officials, school administrators, and managers who violate the guidelines outlined in the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya, as mandated by the Basic Education Act of 2013.
The CS urged the schools to step up their preparations for the national Kenya Primary School Education Assessment, Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment, and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination that are set to start at the end of the Third Term.