Police in Machakos have arrested nine students for allegedly starting a fire that burnt down a form 3 dormitory at Makutano Boys’ High School in Mwala on Tuesday morning.
The fire razed down the dormitory that accommodated 80 students, burning it to ashes, and nothing could be salvaged.
Confirming the incident, Mwala Sub County Administration Police Commander Patience Saro said that the nine students who had been arrested had been taken to the Makutano Patrol base for further investigation.
Further, she said that the County fire brigade and the teachers helped prevent the fire from spreading to the other dormitories in the school, confirming no student had been harmed.
“One dormitory that housed the form threes was totally burnt, nothing could be salvaged from the fire but we appreciate the fire brigade for coming in time to stop the fire from spreading and no one was harmed.”
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She added that the students are to be released to go home as investigations continue into the cause of the fire.
This comes as the Ministry of Education has commissioned an audit of all boarding schools to assess compliance to safety standards following 107 school fire incidents and 239 unrests since January.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos revealed that out of the 107 fire incidents, 36 have 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,” Migos told lawmakers on Tuesday.
“The fires have mainly targeted dormitories. The total number of schools affected by unrest since the beginning of 2024 stands at 239,” he said.
The audit will inform necessary action on both the schools and the officers running them the cases of non-compliance.
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.
