The tragic fire at Utumishi Girls Senior School that claimed 16 lives has led parents and education stakeholders to call for the Nakuru Quality Assurance and Standards Officers to be held accountable for their enforcement of safety regulations at boarding schools.
While investigations have revealed that the fire was deliberately started, parents and education stakeholders claim that the negligence of the officers contributed greatly to the deaths and injuries. This comes amid revelations that the school violated safety manuals by housing students in overcrowded, poorly ventilated dormitories.
"The dormitories at Utumishi Girls are like death traps or prisons. Windows are fitted with fixed metallic grills. The dormitories were extremely congested with no proper emergency exits. The dormitories lacked basic fire safety tools, including functional alarms, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers. This was shameful," explained Joseph Towett, a parent.
Pressure is now mounting on the government to take stern action against the Directorate of Quality Assurance and Standards officers. Parents and education stakeholders cite a lack of routine compliance inspections and enforcement in learning institutions across the country.
"We are demanding the immediate arrest and suspension of the regional Quality Assurance and Standards officials, who should have inspected the school to ensure compliance with safety standards. They knew about the poor state of the dormitories but did nothing. The dormitory at the school where the learners died was a death trap and not a safe space for the learners," stated another parent, Ms Mary Wambui.
Parents also blame the government for pushing for 100 per cent transition without ensuring that schools have the proper infrastructure.
"The Utumishi Girls students were living in a very crowded dormitory, something that complicated their escape from the deadly inferno," added Ms Wambui.
Following last week's tragedy, Julius Bitok, the Principal Secretary for Basic Education, announced that all boarding schools across the country would undergo a mandatory 10-day safety inspection. The inspections will assess compliance with safety standards in boarding institutions nationwide.
"We have directed our officers to conduct a very thorough inspection within the next 10 to 12 days of all boarding schools to confirm afresh whether they meet safety standards and provide recommendations. We are going to take very serious action against any principal, teacher, or school that deliberately violates the provisions of the safety standards," revealed Prof Bitok.
He also revealed that the Ministry of Education now has 1,000 Quality Assurance and Standards officers following a recent government-approved expansion.
"The officers will play a key role in the nationwide inspection exercise. We have 9,500 secondary schools, and of these, 30 per cent, about 3,200, are boarding schools. Every officer is supposed to visit about three schools at most across the country, and that is actually manageable," he said.
During a recent education conference in Naivasha, Prof Bitok said that he had proposed the return of the ruthless Inspectors of Schools of the 1980s and 1990s, to strengthen the inspection of institutions across the country.
"We have had concerns of poor inspection of learning institutions by the Quality Assurance and Standards officers. I have proposed that we first change the name to Inspectors of Schools, as they were formerly called, to instil the seriousness of school inspections," Prof Bitok said while addressing education stakeholders.
According to the PS, a change of title and firm scrutiny by their seniors could strengthen the inspection of schools. In the 1980s and 1990s, the presence of the inspectors in schools was dreaded because they could order the closure of institutions that did not meet Ministry of Education guidelines.
Prof Tom Nyamache, a lecturer at Turkana University, backed the return of the school inspectors.
"We need tough school inspectors in this country who can ensure both education and safety standards are adhered to in institutions. The Ministry of Education must strengthen the inspection of schools to ensure set guidelines are followed," he said.
Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika has also asked school administrators to maintain open communication channels with students to identify and address emerging concerns before they escalate into unrest.
"Parents also have a responsibility of ensuring our learners maintain discipline at home and in school to avoid such incidents," she added.
