NAIROBI, August 19 – The Government has disbursed funds to all provincial boarding secondary schools for the purchase of fire fighting equipment.
Education Minister Sam Ongeri said Tuesday that each provincial school would receive between Sh150, 000 to 350,000.
He said: “The government will continue to ensure that schools across the country receive the necessary support as they strive to implement safety measures.”
Ongeri directed Provincial Education Directors to monitor and report back to his ministry that all institutions that received the funds had bought and installed the fire fighting equipment.
The disbursement of the funds follows a wave of unrest in secondary schools that left many dormitories burnt down and property worth million of shillings destroyed.
The Minister was speaking when he launched the first edition of a safety standards manual for schools, which he ordered to be distributed to all schools in the country.
The manual, Ongeri said, was an important step towards education stakeholders’ efforts to ensure the safety of students.
Outlining safety measures that schools must implement, the guidebook was complied by policy makers, senior government officials, development partners, private sector and other relevant stakeholders to lay the foundation for consensus-building on child safety.
Meanwhile Ongeri maintained that the Government ban on holiday tuition stood.
He stated: “The Government is not against holiday tuition, but tuition overburdens students and results in them being fatigued and stressed.”
He had over the weekend threatened firm action against teachers who conducted the exercise but did not specify the action the ministry would take.
Ongeri said he was in the process of issuing a circular to all learning institutions to that effect.
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