- The students led by UON student leader Rocha Madzao, the student leaders faulted the Ministry of Education for failing to ensure safety in schools.
- Madzao sent condolences to the family and friends of the students who were affected by the fire incident.
Image: FILE
A coalition of university student leaders has mourned the victims of the Hillside Endarasha Academy fire tragedy that claimed 21 lives.
The pupils died after a fire broke out in a dormitory at the school around 11 pm on Thursday.
Led by the University of Nairobi student association president, Rocha Madzao, the student leaders faulted the Ministry of Education for failing to ensure safety in schools.
"It is sad that such incidents are still happening in this century. We mourn as comrades alongside Kenyans," Madzao said.
He sent condolences to the family and friends of the pupils who were affected by the fire incident.
Madzao said that the government through the Ministry of Education should ensure strict regulations are enforced in boarding schools for the safety of students.
"We join all Kenyans in praying for a quick recovery to the affected students and sending off of our comrades. We ask the authorities to carry out serious and speedy investigations to ensure that any foul play is met with severe consequences to ensure all students are protected in future," he said.
The student leader pointed out that Endarasha is not the first incident saying leaders in the ministry who have been in office when the tragedies happened should resign.
On Friday, President William Ruto mourned the pupils saying the loss of children of tender years in such a manner was an unfathomable tragedy.
He decalred a three-day mourning period and directed that the Kenyan and the East African Community (EAC) flags be flown at half-mast during the mourning period.
The flags will be flown half half-mast from dawn on Monday, September 9, 2024, until sunset on Wednesday, September 11, 2024.
This will be done at the State House, all Kenyan diplomatic Missions, public buildings, public grounds, all military bases, posts, stations, all Naval vessels of the Republic of Kenya and throughout the entire territory of the Republic of Kenya.
Speaking on Saturday, University student leadership further criticised the new university funding model introduced by the government.
Madzao stated that the new system excludes many needy students from financial support, putting their education at risk.
“We are urging those being sent home due to lack of fees to contact us. We will liaise with their respective universities to address the matter once and for all after the mourning period,” he said.
Kenya Methodist University Student Association President Naomi Chebet called on the government to scrap the new funding model.
Chebet argued that the previous system, despite its shortcomings, was still better than the current approach, which she described as “impractical.”
“If the old funding model was unsustainable, then the new one is impractical,” she said.
Chebet criticised the government for ignoring the concerns of student leaders, despite multiple meetings with the Ministry of Education and the President.