Kenya: School deaths raise questions on disaster preparedness in schools
By Ken K. Ndori
When parents and guardians hand over their children to school, they believe they are in one of the safest places children can be. However, a stampede that left 14 pupils dead and scores of others injured take the stakeholders in the Education sector back to the drawing board in terms of the safety measures and disaster preparedness in schools and other learning institutions.
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According to the Safety Standards Manual for Schools, schools are currently facing threats that emanate from inappropriate school facilities and infrastructure, poorly constructed classrooms and playing grounds, insufficient and broken down toilets, gender insensitive location of toilets and bathroom facilities and inadequate and inappropriate desks and other furniture. In as much as the schools and the Ministry of Education have tried to put in place safety measures in line with this manual, the begging question is the preparedness of these institutions when the inevitable occurs.
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While it is commendable to put emphasis on the physical security features, it would be futile if those if the Ministry of Education and those who design schools do not endeavor to train the users on the safety measures in the event of a disaster. It’s time the Ministry of Education puts in place a safety budget that will ensure those in schools are well trained on disaster preparedness and management. Schools should know how to respond to emergencies once they happen appropriately and the measures to put in place in order to recover as quickly and effectively as possible. They should be capacitated to timely assess natural disaster risks and other emergencies. Similarly, regular emergency specific drills need to be conducted regularly to ensure the buildings’ infrastructure and the school environment are up to date in the event of an emergency.
It would also be a good thing if schools identified possible relocation sites for students and staff in case of emergencies. Parents should also be given information on where they should go and be reunited with their children in the event of an emergency rather than them running up and down in search of their children, which could also expose them to more harm. On the other hand, students need to be trained on what to do if emergencies happen while they are in the class, dormitories, or playground. When students lack awareness and are less prepared in responding to emergencies, the panic that ensues in the event of an emergency can claim more casualties.
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