POPULAR SCHOOL NEAR STATE HOUSE ON FIRE

Popular secondary school situated near state house is on fire. Six students of Kilimani Secondary School, which is near State House, Nairobi were arrested after they tried to burn their dormitory Sunday night.

Police and the school administration Sunday’s incident was the second such attempt.

Police say up to eight beds were burnt down in the incident before the fire was contained.

The boys had last Friday made a similar attempt but it was thwarted by the school administration.

The school called in police who arrested the boys after the fire had been stopped.

This is the second school to be affected by such an incident in a week.

Another private school was affected last week in the Utawala area before eight girls linked to the same were arrested.

The six boys are under interrogation before they are taken to court.

It is the latest in a series of fire incidents that have affected more than 100 schools in the country in the last four months.

The drive for the new wave is yet to be known as such incidents are common in schools when final exams are near.

As part of efforts to address the issue, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha had suggested that teachers and prefects on duty be held culpable for school fires.

Prof Magoha said in a number of fires reported across the country, teachers have been reporting they do not know the causes yet they are tasked with the day-to-day running of the institutions.

He advised teachers to ensure that dormitories are inspected and locked each morning, and the learners’ movements monitored.

The CS advised learners to remain disciplined and warned that investigations would reveal the identities of those behind the fires. Their details, he added, will be included in a database that can be used against them in their entire career.

Magoha said it was time to hold a national conversation on the issue of corporal punishment and urged parents to show more concern for their children.

Sourced from The Star