The Ministry of Education has ordered a nationwide inspection of all boarding schools following the dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil that killed 16 students and injured dozens more, in one of the country's deadliest school tragedies in recent years.
Speaking during the Elimu Mashinani education forum in Wajir County on Sunday, Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok announced that the inspections will begin on June 2 and be completed within 10 days. The exercise will assess compliance with safety standards in boarding institutions across the country.
"We have directed our officers to conduct a very thorough inspection within the next 10 days of all boarding schools to confirm afresh whether they are meeting safety standards and to provide recommendations," Bitok said. "We are going to take very serious action against any principal, teacher, or school that deliberately violates the provisions of the safety standards."
The move comes as investigations continue into the fire at Utumishi Girls Academy, where 16 students lost their lives and 79 others were injured.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba told the forum that preliminary investigations suggest the blaze was an act of arson, while inquiries into the circumstances that led to the fatalities remain ongoing.
The discussion began with a minute of silence in honour of the students who died in the incident, which has reignited national concerns about safety in boarding schools.
Bitok described the tragedy as "very unfortunate" and said preliminary findings pointed to student-on-student violence and serious lapses in safety and discipline.
He revealed that just days before the incident, he had convened meetings with principals, county directors of education, regional directors and field officers, instructing them to strictly enforce safety regulations.
"I told them this is a very, very sensitive term and you must be on top of things. You must listen to the students," he said, stressing the importance of maintaining open communication channels to detect and address emerging grievances before they escalate.
The Principal Secretary disclosed that Utumishi Girls Academy had been approved to accommodate 650 students but had admitted about 715 learners, exceeding its authorised capacity. He said investigations would establish whether education officials were aware of the over-enrolment and whether action should be taken against those responsible.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has also launched investigations into the conduct of the school's principal and two teachers. TSC CEO Evelyn Mitei said preliminary reports indicate the teachers may have ignored warnings about possible unrest among students.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has expanded its quality assurance workforce to 1,000 officers following a recent government-approved recruitment drive. Bitok said the officers would spearhead the inspection exercise across the country's approximately 3,200 boarding secondary schools.
"We have 9,500 secondary schools and of these 30 per cent, about 3,200 are boarding schools. Every officer is supposed to visit about three schools at most across the country and that is actually manageable," he said.
Education officials at the Wajir forum stressed that safeguarding learners requires a collective effort involving schools, parents and communities. They expressed hope that the nationwide audit would help prevent future tragedies and restore public confidence in the safety of boarding institutions.