School asks parents to pay Sh6.7 million after dormitory fire

Parents whose children study at Mariakani Boys Secondary School in Kilifi County will have to pay Sh6.7 million to cater for losses after a fire gutted a 150-bed dormitory last Saturday.

The fire broke out at 9pm while students were in the middle of an entertainment session.

On Sunday morning, the learning institution was closed indefinitely following a meeting between Kaloleni Sub-county Education Officer Josphine Lomata, the principal and the school’s board of management.

“The school has been closed indefinitely and each student is expected to report back with Sh5,000,” said Mariakani Deputy County Commissioner Dennis Barasa. The school has a total of 1,340 students.

There was another fire at St Johns Girls Secondary School on Wednesday night, and Ms Lomata declined to comment on both incidents, saying she was not authorised to speak to the press.

Efforts to reach the Kilifi County education director, Ms Veronica Kalungu, were unsuccessful as she neither answered calls nor responded to text messages.

Parents at Mariakani Boys Secondary School complained that the Sh5,000 was too punitive.

Former students

Kilifi County Assembly Speaker Teddy Mwambire, an alumnus of the school, said former students had suggested that the cause of the incident be established first.

"We want to know if it was arson or an electrical fault," he said. He added that the Sh5,000 fine was only valid if it was found that students were behind the fire.

“If it is an electrical fault, we have emergency funds at the constituency office. If the school is asking parents to pay Sh5,000, it means they know the cause of the fire," he added.

Similar sentiments were echoed by a section of the parents who said it was unfair to punish students if they did not cause the fire. They said such fines raise suspicions about the cause of school fires.

"Why should we be so quick to blame students when anyone is capable of committing such acts for personal gain? How will all that money be used? Will there be accountability?” one of the parents posed.

The recent incidents have sparked concerns considering that several schools were burnt down in the county last year.

In 2023, a fire twice destroyed a dormitory at Ngala Memorial Secondary School.

A dormitory at St George High School was also burnt down and students lost property.

In addition, eight secondary schools in Ganze went on strike within a month, and the institutions suffered the destruction of properties worth millions of shillings and the burning of dormitories.

The schools include Ganze Boys Secondary School and Bandari and Bale Secondary Schools. Others were Godoma, Mwangea Girls, Ganze Girls and Kachororoni secondary schools.

Eight students from Godoma Secondary School in Ganze were arrested following a 4am arson attack on a 110-bed dormitory that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old student.

Earlier, Ganze Member of Parliament Kenneth Kazungu ruled out fear of mock exams among students as the cause of fires and strikes in schools, arguing that there could be other underlying issues that are yet to be identified. According to the lawmaker, eight schools could not go on strike within a month due to fear of exams.

It is believed that students have always resisted mock exams, which are used to measure the students’ likely performance in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

"There must be something more than exams that is yet to be unearthed. It cannot be a coincidence that eight schools are on strike at the same time," Mr Kazungu said.

He urged the Ministry of Education to send its officials to schools to assess the problem.

Ganze Boys Secondary School went on strike three times in one month.  Parents paid Sh1,800 during the first strike and Sh4,000 in damages during the second.

Dormitories at Galana Secondary School and Malindi High School were also destroyed by fire last year.

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