Details of school safety manual on dorms, classes

In 2008, Education Minister Sam Ongeri published a safety standard manual for schools, prescribing the threshold for the standards of school structures.

These facilities include structures such as classrooms, offices, toilets, dormitories, libraries, laboratories, kitchens, water tanks, and playground equipment, among others

The publication of the manual followed the 2007/08 post-election that displaced millions of school-going children who suffered the brunt of the violence.

Many schools in the affected areas had their infrastructure destroyed thus disrupting learning in schools when children returned to their home areas.

These and many other cases of child abuse that continue to occur, among many other factors, necessitate the development of a school safety standards manual for use by schools.

The ministry prescribed that the structures must comply with the provisions of the Education Act (Cap 211), Public Health Act (Cap 242) and Ministry of Public Works building regulations/standards.

Here is what the Safety Standard Manual for schools prescribes for various facilities in learning institutions.

Dormitories

The ministry observed that in boarding schools, dormitories are the single most used physical infrastructure, where learners spend the longest continuous period of time in a day.

Given the justification, the ministry said it was important to keep the structures clean and properly ventilated.

The ministry said that, in every school, care should be taken to observe the following:

The space between the beds should be at least 1.2 metres while the corridor or pathway space should not be less than 2 metres.

Since the sharing of beds is prohibited in schools, admissions should be tied to bed capacity at all times.

All doorways should be wide enough, at least 5 feet wide, and they should open outwards.

They must not at any time be locked from outside when learners are inside.

Each dormitory should have a door at each end and an additional emergency exit in the middle. It should be clearly labelled “Emergency Exit”.

Dormitory doors should be locked at all times when learners are in class or on the playing fields.

The keys to the doors should be kept by the Dormitory Master/Mistress or the Dormitory Prefect.

Dormitory windows must be without grills and should be easy to open outwards.

Fire extinguishing equipment should be functioning and placed at each exit with fire alarms fitted at easily accessible points.

Regular spot checks by the teachers and the administration should be undertaken before learners retire to bed.

The ministry said an accurate roll call should be taken daily and records should be maintained well.

There should be regular patrols by the school security personnel or any other authorised security personnel. No visitor should be allowed in the dormitory.

There should be an inspection of hygiene standards of the dormitories and the learners on alternate days of the week.

Bunk beds should be firm and fitted with side grills to protect young learners against falling off.

Classrooms

The ministry noted that classrooms are important infrastructures in a school setting since learners spend most of their time in these facilities.

The ministry said, school authorities should observe the following:

The size of the classroom, in terms of length and width, should be as specified in the Ministry of Education building specifications i.e. 7.5m x 5.85m or 7.5m x 6.0m.

Such classrooms should accommodate a maximum of 30 learners in one-seater desks or 40 learners in two-seater desks in line with the provisions of the Ministry of Education circular on Health and Safety Standards in Educational Institutions (2001).

The doorways should be adequate for emergency purposes, open outwards and should not be locked from outside at any time when learners are inside.

For storeyed buildings, the stairways should be wide enough and located at both ends of the building and should be clear of any obstructions at all times.

The construction of stairways should give provision for learners with special needs/disabilities. The handrails on the stairs should be strong and firmly fixed.

The corridors should be both well-ventilated and lit.

The width should be wide enough for the learners to walk along without bumping into each other.

Classroom windows must be without grills and should be easy to open.

The classrooms should be properly lit and ventilated.

The floors should be level and kept clean always. For cemented floors, any cracks should be repaired in good time.

Similarly, for mud walls and floors, teachers should ensure that they are regularly smeared with fresh mud and floors smeared with cow dung to prevent the development of cracks and the generation of dust that can pose risks to the health of both teachers and learners.

In all cases, efforts should be made to cement all the classroom floors.

Each block should be fitted with serviced fire extinguishers.

Regular inspection of classroom buildings, halls and stairways should be carried out and immediate measures taken to correct any problems noticed.

The furniture in classrooms, especially the desks, should be appropriate for use by both male and female learners.

Poorly constructed or inappropriate desks can lead to physical deformities such as curvature of the spine, contraction of the chest, roundness of shoulders or a confirmed stoop.

They can also create tension and fatigue among learners.

The class teacher should ensure that the desks are arranged in a manner that facilitates easy and orderly movement of learners in the classroom—ideally, each desk should have no more than 3 learners and the space between any two desks should be at least 2 feet.

The positioning of electrical sockets should be beyond the reach of young learners in order to avoid tampering.

All buildings and facilities should be accessible to special needs learners.