Mutula orders action on TSC official, head

By RAWLINGS OTIENO

Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo has directed his PS to take disciplinary action against Homa Bay director of education for the death of eight children in a dormitory fire.

Mutula said that the county director, the school head teacher and the management board should be disciplined for failing to adhere to the national policy on holiday tuition.

“I have instructed the PS to institute disciplinary action against the concerned. This is a tragic incident that should not have happened,” said Mutula.

Speaking exclusively to The Standard at his offices in Nairobi Thursday, Mutula said that he has already written to the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko to investigate the tragedy.

He said it was sad that the children were locked inside and could not escape.

Already, detectives from the scene of crime and their counterparts from homicide have been dispatched to Asumbi Girls Boarding Primary School  to establish the cause of the fire. 

“We haven’t established the real cause of the fire and that is why we have deployed our sleuths to the school to investigate,” said a senior detective who sought anonymity.

In the same breath, he directed the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) also to discipline any principal or education official who defies the policy.

Mutula regretted that schools lack fire exits and fire extinguishers yet it is part of Fire Policy adopted in 2008.

“Most schools do not have fire fighting equipment and there are no fire exit signages. Individual schools must ensure that they conduct fire drills as often as possible,” said Mutula.

fire drills

While sending his condolence message to the bereaved, the minister acknowledged that the Government has a policy on compulsory acquisition of fire fighting gadgets.

He assured that the ministry would formulate a policy on fire fighting in schools.

The minister also said that an amendment would be made to the manual for safety standards in schools beginning today, with a view to including fire drills.

He attributed the tragedy to negligence and vowed that those responsible for the death of the innocent children must answer to the country and the parents.

According to the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya drafted in 2008, dormitory windows must be without grills and should be easy to open. The safety manual also demands that fire-extinguishing equipment be functioning.