Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has defended the government's move to close down 348 boarding schools countrywide.
Appearing before the Senate's Education Committee, Ogamba revealed that the government followed the right process to close the schools and that they will only be reopened when they comply with the required regulations.
The Education Committee revealed that it had received complaints that the exercise was unfair and some schools that did not have boarding sections were also listed among those to be closed.
According to Joe Nyutu the chairman of the committee, several schools complained that the Ministry had directed them to do some changes but never got back to confirm whether the changes were made before listing them for closure.
Defending the move, Ogamba revealed that the Ministry did not close any school that met the requirements.
"Our officers did not close any school in the boarding section that met the requirements. These issues have arisen after the audit," Ogamba explained.
Ogamba emphasised that the Ministry will not budge to accommodate schools that did not meet the threshold because of the outcry.
"Where a school has done their bit, we direct them that now they can proceed. But we can't say that we will allow you to run a boarding school that does not meet the safety standards, that one as a Ministry we cannot do," Ogamba clarified.
The clarification by the CS comes after a section of schools revealed that they were wrongly listed and did not have a boarding section. One school in Nairobi is among the schools that were listed for closure but does not have a boarding section.
"Our parents were shocked, and we were shocked, we wish to clarify that the school does not have a boarding section, we only run a day school and feel like our school was erroneously listed," said the school's director.
Ogamba said the Ministry will do another assessment in January and ensure the schools meet the standards.
Some of the changes highlighted by Ogamba include replacing all boarding facilities equipped with triple-decker or wooden beds with more suitable alternatives.
To ease congestion in schools where boarding sections have been closed, the ministry recommends adjusting the spacing between beds to comply with the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya (2008).
