Fire in school is common nowadays in Africa. Many children lost their lives due to fire. That is why the Minister of State for Education, Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, has expressed concern over the rampant fire outbreaks in schools and consequently called for a review of school safety guidelines.
The ministry of state urged schools heads to get back to their basic rules and regulations in which they have to ensure the safety of children while at school is guaranteed.
On Tuesday, Kaducu made the remarks while officiating the Stir Education- MCF Secondary Project conference at Kampala Serena Hotel.
She said that schools should have control of entry and exit routes and should go back to the basics where any visitor entering the school is registered.
Kaducu said I am reminding you all for the last time that they need to control the access to the beliefs in school.
Furthermore, she stated that every school needs to have a secure and non-porous border edge, and we are supposed to have a perimeter fence that cannot allow somebody to jump over.
She also suggested that they have to improve their management systems and, where possible, need to install CCTV cameras to ensure the safety within the school is in check throughout.
“Another measure that was put in place to ensure safety within the premises is that schools should recruit guards and be vetted. They should be trained in basic security and safety measures,” Kaducu stressed.
The minister added that there are supposed to be regular spot checks such that administrators know what students have carried, what they are doing and if they have a good accompany of their friends.
Because some pupils also carried matchboxes & lighters, some might have carried drugs.
In the end, Kuducu warned all the schools that would be short of these guidelines would be closed because due to their leniency, some children may be lost their lives at risk.
The call comes at a time when different stakeholders are concerned over school fires that have become rampant.
Ever since schools reopened on January 10, 2022, after a two-year hiatus, many schools have since been victims of fire outbreaks, with the latest being Good Times Infant School in Kawaala and Bilaal School Bwaise.
Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago called for investigations into who is likely to be behind the fires, saying that it can not be a coincidence.
