Parents pile pressure on Buruburu Girls head over fire

Parents and students at Buruburu Girls High have put the school management on the spot over the Sunday night fire that left 63 learners hospitalised.

It has now emerged that a recent change in school operations might have triggered the fire that left a student with a fractured leg.

About a week ago, an anonymous letter had been written and taken to the principal's office notifying her that there was danger ahead if she did not address the issues raised by the students.

The school split Form 3 learners into different classes based on academic performance, a decision that infuriated the girls.

Bright students were bunched in one class while the rest were put in the  other class.

“The letter had no name but it was delivered to her office and it was like a warning that things would happen if she did not look into the issues,” a Form 2 student told the Star.

“There were writings in the washroom walls and threats of a strike if the principal failed to listen to us,”  a Form 3 student, who did not want her name made public, said.

Buruburu divisional police chief Francis Kamau said the cause of the fire was not immediately clear, but an investigation had been launched.

On Sunday, police and the school management had a hard time restraining agitated parents as firefighters struggled to put out the blaze.

On Monday, the school management held a meeting with parents in which they resolved to close the school for a few days.

However, angry parents demanded answers with some saying there was more to the fire than the school was ready to admit.

Principal Caroline Maina held a long meeting with representatives of parents and members of her board, but declined to address the waiting parents.

It also emerged that parents were unhappy that the concerns they had raised with the school administration took long to be resolved.

In a letter seen by the Star, parents of Form 3W wrote to the regional director of education, Nairobi, raising a number of grievances.

“As parents of Form 3W 2021 in Buruburu Girls, we would like to bring to your attention that a number of issues that we raised with the school administration have not been addressed," the letter reads in part.

The parents complained of uncouth language and at times physical abuse to a point some parents decided to transfer their daughters from the school.

“Some parents have had to transfer their children out of the school and unfortunately not all of us have the luxury to do that because of the constrained time that the girls have left before KCSE,” reads the letter.

The headmistress, in response, said, ““This is just a small drop that has been blown into an ocean."

The girls were allowed to leave.

Some went home with suitcases, buckets and books as they gave their school-leaving sheet to the security guards.

“For heavens sake, what is a Form 4 student going home to do? This the term where they are meant to be summarising the syllabus," a parent was heard saying.

"The investigations should be done with speed so that our daughters come back and learn. School fees is hard to get and every minute lost counts,” a parent said.

The fire broke out in one cubicle and was contained within an hour. 

As of yesterday, 19 girls were still admitted at the Metropolitan Hospital while 16 were at Jamaa Hospital, both in Buruburu area.

The school will communicate at a later date when the  students will be recalled.

-Edited by SKanyara