MPs Set Out New Safety Measures For Schools
Members of Parliament have called for the establishment of clinics staffed by at least one nurse in all public schools and for health officials to inspect school food. This comes after the deaths of three students and a teacher at Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School in Kakamega County, which authorities blamed on food poisoning.
The MPs said that the safety of the food consumed by students in high schools is not currently ascertained by any health officer, which exposes learners to deadly diseases. They also called for food handlers in all schools to undergo training and ensure they are disease-free before handling food for students.
The lawmakers accused principals of overcrowding their schools in order to get higher funding while compromising on sanitation standards. They demanded that schools, like hotels, be regularly inspected by public health officials.
The Ministry of Health linked the deaths at Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School to Enterotoxigenic E. coli and Salmonella typhi after tests conducted by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri). The MPs called for better coordination between schools and the Education and Health ministries.
Seme MP James Nyikal, who is a former Public Health principal secretary, suggested that dispensaries with at least one nurse and a doctor on call should be established to address the urgent need for health officers to check what students are eating. He also recommended that schools be immunized against cholera before students return.
Kakamega woman representative Elsie Muhanda called for infrastructure expansion to accommodate growing student populations. Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba criticized Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu for ordering the transfer of former Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School Principal Frida Ndolo instead of addressing the real issues.
The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education has instructed Machogu and Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang’ to prepare a comprehensive report on disease outbreaks in schools.
The committee is set to table a report in the House on what transpired in the schools and recommend ways to make learning institutions safer. The MPs’ demands aim to address the serious issue of food safety and hygiene in Kenyan schools, ensuring that learners are protected from deadly diseases.
MPs Set Out New Safety Measures For Schools
