Post: Leaders call for urgent school safety reforms

Nambala MP Geoffrey Mulanya has urged the government, through the Ministry of Education, to prioritize schools' safety compliance policies under the strict adherence to safety measures in schools.The appeal comes following the Hillside Endarasha Academy fire that has claimed 21 lives and left 12 pupils injured on Thursday night.Speaking at Nambale Urban Primary school during ground breaking of two classrooms the legislature gave a passionate appeal to the Ministry of Education who issue compliance certificates to private boarding schools to be held accountable for the mess.'We must hold all who issue compliance certificates to schools accountable in case of any tragedies in schools. Some private schools collude with DQSO to get certificates without meeting standards,' Mulanya noted.He outlined among the safety measures that include standards for building materials, classroom sizes, window dimensions, ventilation, and the number of students allowed in a given space.'We compromise everything in our s chool right from construction of classrooms. Some MPs follow-up with contractors during CDF tenders and demand for kick-backs,' he added.Speaking in a different function within Nambale Town, the Nambale township MCA Ken Ruppia challenged the national government to revert all bursaries back to the Ministry or under one funding body for transparency and accountability.Ruppia has warned that some legislatures were using NG-CDF to settle political scores and gain political mileage at the expense of genuine beneficiaries who drop out of school.'It's a pity that some politicians use a bursary which is meant for learners from humble families to settle political scores. While some pilfer the kit to flex their political muscles,' added Ruppia.The sentiment comes amid national calls for the government to amalgamate all the bursaries under one kitty to help mitigate corruption and disadvantaged learners from humble backgrounds.'It's prudent and right time that all monies meant for bursaries were put under one kitty for sanity and end duplication which leads to corruption in most CDF and county offices,' noted Ruppia.Residents of Nambale constituency condoled with parents from Nyeri who have lost their loved ones.Source: Kenya News Agency