The Ministry of Education has commissioned an audit of all boarding schools to assess compliance with safety standards after one hundred and seven school fire incidents and 239 unrests were reported since January.

Appearing before Parliament on Tuesday, Education Cabinet Secretary(CS) Julius Migos revealed that 36 of the 107 fire incidents occurred in the third term and mainly targeted dormitories.

“Since January, 2024 to 16th September, 2024, there have been 107 fire incidents in our schools, with 36 of these occurring in this Third Term.”

“The fires have mainly targeted dormitories. The total number of schools affected by unrest since the beginning of 2024 stands at 239,” he added.

He stated that the audit will inform necessary action on the part of both the schools and the officers running them in cases of non-compliance.

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“Strained relationships and poor communication between school administrators and students, interference by local communities, examination anxiety, fear, drug, alcohol abuse and general indiscipline and peer pressure have emerged as likely triggers in preliminary assessements.”

“Each incident [is] investigated and dealt with according to the attendant circumstances. However, generally we have adopted a multi-stakeholder approach, involving the local leadership and the surrounding community, to address these challenges,” the Education CS.

The ministry has also mandated an investigation on the tragic fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy that left 21 learners dead to determine the school’s compliance with the requisite safety standards.

“We have formed a committee to take appropriate action, if this internal self-assessment reveals a failure on the part of our officers,” CS Migos said.