MPs push for closure of boarding schools over student unrest

The death of 16 students in the Utumishi Senior Girls School fire incident has elicited calls for the abolishment of boarding schools with a section of MPs blaming safety protocols implementation agencies.

Buoyed by the fact that there have been numerous fire incidents in schools over the last three decades, despite various policy reviews and recommendations from commissions of inquiry, MPs are now mulling the closure of boarding schools as an unprecedented cure to schools’ unrest and in a bid to save lives.

But even as calls to abolish boarding institutions persist, the recent tragedy exposes a decades-long cycle that has long afflicted learning institutions — fires claim lives, tough talk follows from the government, commissions of inquiry are formed, but ultimately the recommended safety protocols and preventive measures are never implemented.

 During the National Assembly’s plenary sitting on Tuesday, MPs expressed concern that negligence in the enforcement of safety regulations, and an insistence by the State on the 100 per cent transition policy — without the provision of necessary infrastructure — had contributed to unrest and tragedies in schools.

Speaking shortly after a statement of condolence to the afflicted families by Gilgil MP Martha Wangari, the lawmakers emphasised on the need for closure of boarding schools.

Marakwet East MP Kagongo Bowen called on the House to reconsider the place of boarding institutions while Kathiani MP Robert Mbui called for the formation of a commission of inquiry into recent tragedies.

“As Parliament, we need to re-examine the issue of boarding schools. If you look at developed countries, there are very few, if any, boarding schools. We also need to have a standardised policy, especially on dormitories, across the country,” stated Bowe.

“We need for the country to come up with practical recommendations to address the root causes of the problem. This is a very sensitive situation we are in. The question we are now grappling with is: How do we prosecute a crime as serious as murder? Yes, we know they are children, but what about those who have lost their lives?” posed MP Mbui.

Kisii woman Representative Doris Ndonya attributed the increase in deaths in schools to boarding schools.

“We should not have boarding schools because we have had deaths because of these boarding schools,” stated Ndonya.

Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba, while criticising what he termed as a skewed transition policy, noted that there was something wrong with the architecture of boarding schools.

“By the way, there is something wrong with the boarding schools, let us do them away with them,” said Milemba.

Igembe North Constituency MP Julias Taitum said there lacked a clear line of communication between principals and teachers hampering the passing of information.

 “In relation to what happened at Utumishi Girls, some principals live in an ivory tower such that there is no flow of information from teachers to the principal, particularly where girls are concerned. The men who teach there cannot pass information to the principals because, at times, if they do, they are victimised,” remarked Taitum.

Rarieda MP Otiendo Amollo, while calling for a review of infrastructure and operations in schools, called for the formation of an ad hoc committee to examine unrest in schools.

 “We must accept that we have all failed the children who perished. We failed them through the schools, through the government, through policies, and even we, as Parliament, are among those who failed them. We must collectively apologise. The idea of burning schools and school unrest is a trend that must be examined as we examine ourselves,” said Amollo.

Adding: “We must also re-examine the circumstances under which we are operating our schools. If you look at the images of that school, and that it is a high-end school, you can see that the dormitory was highly congested. This 100 per cent transition policy, without the necessary infrastructure, is part of the problem.”

Nominated MP Dorothy Ikiara was, however, opposed to the formation of a commission of inquiry or an adhoc committee noting that the reports by those in the recent past did not translate to implementation.

“It is high time that we tell ourselves the truth. Those commissions of inquiry have been coming up with reports but they are never implemented. As of now, even if it means converting our boarding schools into day schools, so be it,”

“These tragedies are not new, we have witnessed others such as those in Changamwe High School and Bumbululu School.”

In 2001, the deadliest school fire razed Kyanguli Secondary School in Machakos County, where 67 boys perished after their fellow students deliberately set a dormitory ablaze. The unrest had reportedly been set off by the cancellation of national examination results the previous year.

The incident followed after another at Bombolulu Girls’ Secondary School in Kwale County in 1997, where 26 girls died, after being trapped in an overcrowded dormitory with a single door for both access and emergency exit that had been locked from the outside and barred windows that prevented escape.

Electrical fault

In 2012, eight students were killed at Asumbi Girls’ Primary School in Homa Bay County, due to an electrical fault.

Years later in 2016, more than 100 high schools were reported to have been razed down following the then Education Minister Fred Matiang’i directive that school holidays be shortened and parent visits be restricted.

In another incident, 21 Form One students died in a dormitory fire at Endarasha Academy in 2024.

Other schools that have been confronted by fire tragedies include BuruBuru girls, Isiolo girls and Bukhalarire Secondary.  

Following years of the tragedies the office of the Auditor General undertook an audit of safety preparedness in Secondary schools and the findings were alarming; it noted that schools did not have adequate physical infrastructure to handle fire incidences.

“Physical verification in the 42 sampled schools indicated that none of the schools had posted n evacuation map on the buildings as required. The audit found that 40 schools had fire extinguishers distributed in their buildings with administration blocks having the highest number of serviced fire extinguishers and halls having the least. The schools did not have the right and type of firefighting equipment,” reads the report.

The report also pointed to a lack of implementation of the 2008 Safety Standards Manual for Schools as a cause of the fire tragedies and unrest. The document prescribes that the space between dormitory beds should be no less than 1.2 meters, with corridor space of at least two meters.

It dictates that all dormitory doors must be at least five feet wide, open outwards, and must never be locked from outside when learners are inside. Each dormitory is required to have a door at each end and an additional emergency exit in the middle, clearly labelled. Windows must be free of grills and easy to open. Fire extinguishing equipment must be functional and placed at each exit, with fire alarms fitted at accessible points. Further, evacuation maps must be posted at every entrance and exit. Fire drills are to be conducted at least twice per term.

But over time, those in government have made efforts to curb these occurrences- but they keep recurring.

In 2016, then CS Fred Matiang’i assembled the Omolo Taskforce following a spate of schools’ unrest.

In its review of an earlier report, it established that of 168 recommendations, only 65 had been fully implemented, 67 partially implemented, 33 not implemented at all, and three were still under implementation.

The taskforce also exposed various schools that were said to have flouted basic fire protocols. It came up with 68 recommendations that were to be implemented within six months to a year.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang would later in 2021  issue a circular to boarding secondary schools instructing them to deploy more teachers on duty around dormitories, enhance guidance and counselling services, and conduct regular spot checks before learners went to sleep in a bid to curb unrest.

Then in 2024, President William Ruto directed the Education and Interior ministries to ensure compliance with boarding school regulations following the Endarasha fire incident. He also directed for a safety audit and inspection of schools by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with county governments.

The government talked tough promising to take action on violators of the set regulations but two years later, the Utumishi fire incident took place.