Education Cabinet Secretary Professor George Magoha now says teachers who thwart school fires will be feted, as part of measures of encouraging others.
Magoha spoke Monday, on a day Kenyans woke up to the news that students of Uriri High School in Migori had torched their dormitory after being denied a chance to watch Kenya vs Algeria match in the ongoing AFCON games as reported on The Sauce.
âFor me even one building being burnt when we donât have enough money to construct others is very painful, can we have the names of those teachers who thwarted the fires so that they come and we fete them during the course of next week, not just feting but with something palpable which will tell you that there is a price of being vigilant,â Magoha said when he met education stakeholders and officials from Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) to assess preparedness of the national examinations.
He said, âthere is no excuse for students to burn schools whatever time of the day when there are school heads and teachers.â
He further called on education regional officials to remain vigilant and conduct inspection visits in schools within their jurisdictions so as to ensure studentsâ issues are addressed to avoid such incidences. âIf you are sitting in an office and a dormitory is burning just know you are doing nothing,â he said.
Last year, a number of schools were torched by students as they approached the national examinations period, with most cases reported in boarding schools, followed by mixed boarding and day schools.
Last year alone, schools in at least 32 counties were affected with the highest number of cases recorded in Siaya, Murangâ a Nairobi, Nyeri, and Kakamega.
The wave on the studentsâ unrest was blamed on fear of examinations, resistance to the transfer of head teachers, peer influence, change in education policies and indiscipline.
The CS Magoha has now warned that those who will be found culpable in having taken part in school infernos will be charged.
This article was first published on Capital News.
