Clinical Officers or nurses in boarding schools who throw caution to the wind and decide to see pretence as opposed to sincerity, whenever learners report sickness, are a threat to the safety of students.
Parents have expressed concern that often they are informed very late that their children require specialised treatment, yet those whose children have underlying conditions had informed the school as stipulated in the institution's guidelines.
In some schools, learners who arrive with medical reports indicating they are allergic to dust and other triggers of allergic diseases are not supported to stay healthy. Instead, they are teased and given work that exposes them to health risks in the guise that all learners must be subjected to the same conditions.
The clinical officers prescribe medicines without due regard to what has been working for the students. Priority usually is the medicines available in school and not what the patient needs to recover fast and resume studies.
In situations, where the learner needs to be referred to a hospital, they don’t help teachers to make the right decision. They support the narrative that the student ‘is not that sick’ to leave school. When the student’s health deteriorates further, that is when the parent receives a distress call.
When parents enrol their children in boarding schools, they have surrendered their trust to the teachers and non-teaching staff, who as adults of sound mind, have a responsibility to act as alternative parents.
This explains why the cases of deaths and assault of learners in some schools have not settled well amongst the majority of Kenyans who have cast doubts on the role of medical personnel in schools. There are concerns that though professionals, they seem to sit on the fence as issues that require their intervention are left at the whims of teachers.
It started with a Grade 4 pupil in Nyamira county who was left nursing serious wounds after a teacher allegedly spanked him with 107 strokes of the cane.
Enraged Kenyans camped on social media platforms demanding justice for the pupil saying the teacher behind the ghastly attack had contravened the Ministry of Education's policy on corporal punishment.
Some teachers at the school are said to have conspired to conceal the incident by keeping the boy in the dormitory instead of seeking appropriate medical attention.
At the Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls’ High School in Kakamega county, the death toll from a killer bacterial illness hit four after a boarding mistress suffered multiple organ failure. The deaths have been linked to contaminated food and water.
A communication from the school informing parents that the institution had been closed indefinitely lacked empathy for the families that had lost their loved ones. The administration blamed imaginary people for the misfortune, with the media unfairly being targeted for reporting the unfolding events.
Other schools joined the queue with reactionary statements. They demanded afresh that parents furnish them with medical reports indicating if their children had underlying medical issues, simply because one of the parents exonerated the school from blame saying her deceased child was grappling with a medical issue.
The medical personnel in schools have not only a duty to attend to learners who approach them with medical concerns, but they should also check out and advise the management whenever they suspect that the learners were operating in an environment that poses grave dangers to their health. They should not just sit there with crossed legs, waiting for the patient.
Article 36 (1) of the Basic Education Act, 2013 says, “No pupil shall be subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in any manner, whether physical or psychological. (2) A person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment not exceeding six months or both.”
The functions of the Board of Management of a basic education institution include managing the institution’s affairs in accordance with the rules and regulations governing occupational safety and health.
Those hired to manage the health of learners must stick to their lane and ensure the students enjoy learning by safeguarding their health. Letting the children live in fear will make them hate education yet, Article 53 of the Constitution is clear that basic education is free and compulsory for all learners.
Freelance journalist. [email protected]
