Endarasha fire: Almost 50% of Boarding Schools Without Safety Measures.
The Ministry of Education is currently advocating for the adoption of a 2020 report by the Auditor General as legislation to impose appropriate punishments on schools that disregard safety requirements.
The Endarasha Hillside Academy fire has reignited discussions about student safety in classrooms, prompting numerous organizations to revisit their earlier findings on the condition of schools nationwide.
The nonprofit organization Usawa Agenda released a report in April 2024 stating that extreme overcrowding in dorms was putting several schools across the nation in grave danger of collapsing.
The study claims that almost half of the nation’s boarding schools do not follow the established rules on the amount of space between beds in dorms, endangering pupils in the event of an emergency.
In 2020, the Office of the Auditor General conducted an audit on school safety, during which they proposed a minimum bed spacing requirement of 1.2 meters for dormitories.
Just 40.5% of schools, according to the Usawa Agency, have followed the advice.
Only 24% of sub-county schools adhered to the recommended minimum space, making them the most infamous schools. Contrarily, 74% of county schools complied, yet some of them continue to be student death traps.
Furthermore, only seven out of ten secondary schools had operational firefighting apparatus, and even fewer had designated fire assembly locations inside the school grounds.
With 96% compliance, national schools had the greatest percentage, and 59% of sub-county schools had operational firefighting apparatus.
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Julius Migos, the cabinet secretary for education, has now gone out swinging, threatening severe punishment for school administrators who have not complied.
“We cannot continue having this year after year. With the recommendations in place, we are willing to move these recommendations to regulations and have penalties,” said the CS.
Remarkably, statistics show that nearly half of school dorms are disasters waiting to happen. The Ministry of Education’s commitment to shut down noncompliant institutions remains uncertain.
Endarasha fire: Almost 50% of Boarding Schools Without Safety Measures.
