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The country has witnessed 107 school fire incidents and 239 unrest since January this, education Cabinet Secretary Julias Ogamba has said.

Appearing before MPs who sit in the education committee, Ogamba said that out of the 107 fire incidents, 36 have occurred this term and mainly targeted dormitories.

He said: “Since January, 2024 to 16th September, 2024, there have been 107 fire incidents in our schools, with 36 of these occurring in this third term. The fires have mainly targeted dormitories. The total number of schools affected by unrest since the beginning of 2024 stands at 239.”

Following the s incidents, Ogamba disclosed that the ministry has commissioned an audit of all boarding schools, to assess their compliance with the safety standards manual to ensure that they are compliant.

The audit, he said, will identify cases of non-compliance, indicate areas where offices have failed, as well as recommend the necessary action to be taken on both the school and the officers.

Strained relations

In his submission before MPs, the CS said that the cases of unrest have been informed by a number of reasons ranging from strained relationships/poor communication between school administrators and students, peer pressure, interference by local communities, examination anxiety, fear, drug, alcohol abuse and general indiscipline. In order to deal with the criminal aspects of the said incidents, he said they have been working with the criminal justice system to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to punish those who destroy property and risk the lives of others through arson.

He said: “Each incident is investigated and dealt with according to the attendant circumstances. However, generally we have adopted a multi-stakeholder approach, involving the local leadership and the surrounding community to address these challenges, through guidance and counseling, amicable dispute resolution and strengthening disciplinary action.”

Ogamba disclosed that the ministry is undertaking internal investigations on the fire incident at Hillside Endarasha Academy that left 21 learners dead to determine the school’s compliance with the requisite safety standards.

He said: “We have formed a committee to take appropriate action, if this internal self-assessment reveals a failure on the part of our officers.”