Mombasa County Government will from Monday September, 9 conduct an inspection exercise in all schools within the county to ensure all safety measures are in place and in use.
The exercise will cover both private and public schools as well as boarding and day schools. Universities and tertiary institutions too.
Mombasa Governor, Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir said the urgent measures have been necessitated by the recent tragedy at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County where at least 21 minors were burnt beyond recognition on Thursday night. To date 17 pupils are still missing according to the school Administration.
Nassir says he has ordered the County Roads and Infrastructure Department and the County Education Department to work in unison and ensure safe learning environment for students and pupils in all schools.
“Beginning Monday, the County Government will initiate a fire and safety assessment exercise covering all private and public ECDs, Primary and Secondary schools as well as Universities free of charge,” said Nassir.
According to the Mombasa County Chief, The exercise is intended to identify any gaps in fire and safety in learning institutions in the county.
“We will also offer basic fire safety training to those operating schools. The safety of learners remains our top priority,” said Governor Nassir.
Nassir made the remarks when he officially closed the Seventh Day Adventist camp week in Tononoka Grounds, Mombasa, on Saturday.
His remarks come as the country begins three days of mourning from Monday 9th to Wednesday 11th September, 2024, as pronounced by President William Ruto.
During the three-day mourning period the national flag will fly half mast.
On Monday ,the government will conduct the postmortem and DNA pairing exercise to enable parents identify the remains of their loved ones.
It is an incident that ignited a heated debate in the country, with Kenyans questioning the safety of learners in boarding schools.
Many Kenyans now wants a total abolishment of boarding schools in the country following the ugly devastating history of learners losing their lives without any tangible proper safety guidelines being enforced to ensure safe habitable environment for learners.
Meanwhile Muslim Women Advancement of Rights and Protection Organisation (MWARP) has urged Mombasa County government to ensure after the exercise, it releases its report to the public.
MWARP Coast regional Coordinator Fahad Changi said most schools in Mombasa County are in bad state and lack basic fire fighting equipment.
According to Mr Changi, the safety of learners should be prioritised by any administration.
“We will closely monitor the progressive inspection Mombasa County government will be undertaking. We will immediately demand for a full report on the same and planned actions on the school safety,” said Mr Changi.
Changi said the country cannot continue counting deaths every year following school fires.
“As a nation we cannot remain comfortably counting losses of lives every year. We must genuinely act to end these unfortunate occurrences in our country,” noted Changi.
