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{
    "id": 1474671,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1474671/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 190,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr Julius Ogamba",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Education",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The Ministry of Education adopted the safety standards manual for schools in the year 2008, and over the years we have enriched the provisions of the manual with circulars from time to time to make it relevant to the changing times in the country. The manual prescribes the safety standards and procedures that schools must adhere to. It sets out the roles of the school administrators and the teachers in relation to the learner when the learner is within the custody of the school. The manual requires each school to have a school safety subcommittee which is coordinated by the head of the school. In that manual, Paragraph 5.2 requires that the subcommittee monitors and evaluates the various aspects of the school safety with a view to ensuring that learners, parents, and stakeholders are informed about school safety policies and implementation activities, and constantly reviews issues of child safety in and around the school. The manual outlines the guidelines on safety on school grounds and safety in school infrastructure. The manual also provides guidance on a number of issues, such as skills-based education on prevention of endemic conditions and other health risks, promotion of environmental sanitation and hygiene practises, provision of safe water and sanitation, protection of children with special needs with regard to their health and hygiene, and on the taking of immediate steps when there is a threat of an epidemic outbreak. Through our quality assurance and standards team, we continually and regularly monitor compliance with the requirements of the manual. To a large extent, most of our schools comply with the requisite safety standards. There are, however, cases where there is non- compliance. Due to this non-compliance, we have commissioned a national audit of all our boarding schools to assess their compliance with the safety standards manual. The audit will identify cases of non-compliance and the consequent action to be taken against the affected schools. The audit will also show us where our officers have failed so that appropriate action is taken. Going forward, we want to strengthen the school safety framework, and with your support, we will elevate the provisions of the safety standards manual to a binding legal status with criminal sanctions for those who fail to comply or ensure compliance. There have also been several cases of deliberate fires related to unrest in schools. From January 2024 to 16th September 2024, there have been 106 fire incidents in our schools, with 35 of these occurring during this third term. The fires have mainly targeted dormitories and the total cases of unrest in schools since the beginning of 2024 now stand at 238. Cases of unrest have been informed by a number of causes ranging from strained relationships or poor communication between school administrators and students. There is also peer pressure, interference by local communities, fear of examinations and anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, and general indiscipline. 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. To deal with the criminal aspects of these incidents, we have committed to work with the criminal justice system to ensure that appropriate action is taken to punish those who destroy property and cause loss of life through acts of arson and intentional destruction of property. Hon. Speaker, we trust that the foregoing information adequately addresses the issues at hand. I submit. Thank you."
}