Secondary school principals in Kwale County have linked the spate of school fires to cartels involved in examination cheating. Though the county has not experienced any such cases, the principals met at Matuga Girls Secondary School to find out the possible reasons behind the fires.
Speaking during the meeting, Kwale County Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Festus Sombo said just like the way corruption has a way of fighting back, the cartels may also be financing the fires. He asked the government to conduct a thorough investigation to arrest the real culprits behind the fire menace.
“You know Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has sealed all loopholes for examination cheating and this might have angered some people who were in the business [of selling exams],” he said.
Mr Sombo said, apart from the cartels, the students themselves might also be behind the fires after realising that there will be no leakage of examination papers. He added that the manner in which the incidents occur suggests a well-planned affair, especially since no single student has been physically affected.
“This issue is really giving us a hard time, especially for those who are managing boarding schools, because it has become so hard to know what the students are up to,” he said.
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During the meeting, the principals took issue with Dr Matiang’i’s decision to hold them equally accountable whenever a fire is reported in schools.
They expressed fears that their deputies, some of whom are not on good terms with them, might use the issue to influence students to burn their schools in order to victimise them. “Dr Matiang’i needs to be told to tone down [his comments] immediately, because some of the decisions which he makes do not favour us,” he said.
As a way of addressing the issue effectively, the principals passed a resolution to engage the students directly and create a platform for them to air their views freely.
Similarly, Kwale County director of education Sammy Kagiri said the county is hoping that no fire incident happens before schools close for the August holiday. “We are grateful that we have not had any problems apart from the false alarm which was reported at Ng’ombeni Secondary School on Sunday,” he said.
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He cautioned the principals against admitting transferred students from other schools without informing their respective sub-county directors of education. Without mentioning the schools, Mr Kagiri said there are a few in the county that are in the habit of admitting students who have been expelled from other schools.
At the same time, Kwale County Commissioner Kutswa Olaka urged the school heads to look for ways to address all internal wrangles and come up with suitable solutions. “We need to be very careful when dealing with this issue because even a cook can bring down a school provided that his grievances are not heard,” he said.
Still on the same issue, the county commissioner opposed a proposal to deploy armed police officers in all schools to instil fear among the students. The proposal was made as the principals discussed whether to employ professional security officers who can deal with criminal incidents on time.
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