Nambale MP Geoffrey Mulanya has urged the government through the Ministry of Education to prioritise schools’ safety compliance by ensuring strict adherence to measures.
The appeal comes after the Hillside Endarasha Academy, in Kieni, Nyeri County, fire that claimed 21 lives and left 12 pupils injured on Thursday night.
The MP told the Ministry of Education who issued compliance certificates to private boarding schools to be held accountable for the mess.
He spoke at Nambale Urban Primary School during ground groundbreaking of two classrooms.
“We must hold all who issue compliance certificates to schools accountable in case of any tragedies in schools.
"Some private schools collude with the Defense Quality and Standardisation Office(DQSO) to get certificates without meeting standards,” Mulanya said.
He outlined safety measures such as standards for building materials, classroom sizes, window dimensions, ventilation, and the number of students allowed in a given space.
“We compromise everything in our schools right from the construction of classrooms. Some MPs follow up with contractors during CDF tenders and demand kickbacks,” he said.
Nambale township MCA Ken Ruppia on his part told the national government to revert all bursaries to the Ministry or put them under one funding body for transparency and accountability.
He spoke in a different function within Nambale town.
Ruppia said some legislatures were using NG-CDF to settle political scores and gain political mileage at the expense of genuine beneficiaries who drop out of school.
“It is a pity that some politicians use bursary meant for learners from humble families to settle political scores, some pilfer the kit to flex their political muscles,” Ruppia said.
The sentiment comes amid national calls for the government to amalgamate all bursaries under one kitty to help mitigate corruption and ensure learners from humble backgrounds are not disadvantaged.
“It is prudent and right time that all monies meant for bursaries were put under one kitty for sanity and end duplication which leads to corruption in most CDF and county offices," he said.
Residents of the Nambale constituency condoled with parents of Hillside Academy who lost their loved ones.
