All injured Utumishi Academy girls discharged — Ogamba

Education CS Julius Ogamba addressing the press in his Jogoo House office, Nairobi, June 10 /SCREENGRAB

All the girls who had been hospitalised following a dormitory fire at Utumishi Academy in Gilgil have been discharged.

The May 28 inferno claimed the lives of 16 girls, while 79 others sustained varying degrees of injuries and were admitted to different health facilities, including Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.

In an update on Wednesday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said all the students who had been admitted had since been released and allowed to return home.

He also confirmed that nine girls remain in police custody after preliminary investigations established that the fire was an act of arson.

The suspected arsonists were captured on CCTV allegedly setting fire to the upper floor of the dormitory, known as the Meline Waithera Block.

Ogamba condemned the incident, noting that it reflects a worrying trend of unrest in schools.

Since the tragedy, Ogamba said 204 boarding secondary schools have been closed indefinitely following student unrest, some of which involved the torching of dormitories and other facilities.

"The government is taking the matter of unrest and general indiscipline in our schools with utmost seriousness. Whatever grievances that our learners may have, there can never be justification for causing death and destroying property," he said.

As of Wednesday, 59 of the schools had resumed learning and more others were expected to reopen, Ogamba revealed.

He added that unlawful acts and violence should never be the preferred course of action for students who feel aggrieved, warning that stern action will be taken against those found culpable of criminal conduct.

Ogamba said the ministry has undertaken a preliminary review of all reported cases of school unrest and established that 98 per cent of senior schools have not been affected and remain in session.

"Most of the schools that are affected are boarding senior schools, with day senior schools largely proceeding with their activities uninterrupted," Ogamba said.

He addressed the press in his Jogoo House office, Nairobi.

The CS called for a whole-of-society approach in dealing with the escalating learner indiscipline in schools across the country.

He particularly called on parents to spend time with their children during holidays and term breaks to foster a strong parent-child relationship.

"It's our duty to nurture our children in the values and virtues that grow them into law-abiding and responsible citizens that will continue to contribute positively to the development of our country and not to destruction."

Ogamba announced the formation of a multi-stakeholder team to address the rising student unrest.