Govt Urges Parents to Transfer Pupils From 348 Unsafe Schools

The government, through the Ministry of Education, issued a directive to all parents with pupils in 348 schools closed last year, urging them to be transferred to other schools ahead of the reopening next week.

Speaking to the press on Friday, January 3, Basic Education Permanent Secretary Dr Belio Kipsang noted that any school that failed to meet the preparedness levels as prescribed by the ministry will not be allowed to open and directed all parents to transfer their pupils.

“Any school that has not met the preparedness levels won’t be allowed to proceed. For those who will not be ready, we have already told parents to seek alternative schools for their children,” PS Kipsang stated.

The 348 schools were closed for failing to meet safety standards for dormitories posing a risk to learners, contravening the provisions of the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya (2008).

According to the PS, only schools that have done repairs and adjustments as per the safety standards will be allowed to reopen after inspection by education officers. 

In Kisii County, only 10 out of 17 private schools that were listed among the 348 are reported to have aligned to the required safety standards. The majority of schools listed have yet to make the required adjustments.

Heads of schools affected were advised to get in touch with the ministry for prior inspections before the schools are opened for the first term of 2025.

Kipsang argued that some schools required slight modifications to adhere to safety regulations. “Some of them are just a matter of re-registration to reflect that they’re boarding. Some of the criteria considered during the inspection included exit sections within boarding facilities and the availability of extinguishers, among other safety measures,” he explained.

The exercise was launched after a wave of school infernos that hit the country in 2024, with several infernos breaking out during the third term, prompting the ministry to inspect all boarding schools. 

The most notable one was the Hillside Endarasha Academy blaze that claimed the lives of 21 pupils and left scores injured in unclear circumstances, leaving the country in utter shock and grief.

After the nationwide inspection, the government announced that the 348 schools would not resume normal operations until they met the required safety standards.

An assessment exercise to establish the status of compliance with safety standards for all boarding primary schools in the country was carried out in the months of September and October 2024.

The exercise also found that the affected schools did not adhere to the standards as prescribed in the Registration Guidelines for Basic Education Institutions (2021).