Speaking during a tour of schools in Machakos County on Monday, November 8,Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has threatened that students linked to burning of schools will be blocked from joining public schools.
Magoha noted that the directive would help curb indiscipline cases in schools. He further stated that the act of setting school premises on fire was primitive noting that schools would not be shut down due to increased indiscipline cases.
“It looks mundane and juvenile to burn a building. It is stupid, it’s primitive and must stop. We are not closing any schools,”
His statement comes after he was accused of inaction following a wave of school fires sweeping across the country.
On the morning of Monday, two schools including Maranda High School and Mwala Girls High School went up in flames raising the number to over 35 countrywide.
A police report indicated that in Maranda, the fire destroyed a dormitory that housed 200 students while another dormitory fire destroyed property of unknown value at Mwala. No person was injured in the two incidents.
On Saturday, November 6, a dormitory at Kakamega High School was also reduced to ashes and landed 16 students in trouble. At Buruburu Girls High School in Nairobi, two students accused of masterminding the arson operation have already been arrested and are set to face the law.
According to detectives privy to the investigations, the two are said to have been spotted leaving the dormitory before the fire began.
Headteachers had earlier accused at Magoha’s Ministry of Education over the spike in school unrest. Led by Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) Chairperson, Indimuli Kahi, the teachers maintained that the Ministry of Education failed in its oversight role which could have helped in averting the cases of unrest.
Kahi noted that before the schools were given a nod to reopen, teachers had proposed a raft of measures but failed to factor in the half-term breaks which has contributed to the spike.
Students are expected to break for half-term on Friday, November 19 and resume studies on Tuesday, November 23.
Edited By: Chepkosgei Jedidah