Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has instructed officials from the ministry to unravel the death of two students at Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School in Kakamega County.
According to reports, the Ministry of Education officials were deployed to Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School to investigate the deaths of two students, who died in separate events while receiving treatment.
Kakamega County director of education Dickson Ogonya confirmed that the ministry had sent officials to the school and prepare a report that will be submitted to the Ministry.
Ogonya stated that the Ministry of Education officials will talk to students, teachers and other workers at the school before they compile their final report.
“We have instructed the ministry of education on the ground to visit the school and investigate the reports relating to the deaths of students and prepare a report that will be submitted to the Ministry of Education for action,” he remarked.
The Nation reported that one of the students is reported to have had a pre-existing condition and succumbed while receiving treatment for malaria.
The other student was reported to have developed complications after she underwent a medical procedure.
The deaths are linked to the outbreak of malaria at the school where 28 students were hospitalised with fever and diarrhoea in late May.
Parents pointed an accusing finger at the school and argued that the administration did not do enough while their children were in the hospital.
Other parents blamed the school’s management for failing to notify them about the situation early enough. The school told parents to ensure students are taken for medical checkups and present the reports when school reopens on July 12.
Kakamega County executive for Health Services Dr Collins Matemba told the Nation that samples obtained from the students who were taken ill in May indicated they were suffering from malaria.
He stated that a team from the Ministry of Health Disease Surveillance and Outbreak Response Unit was sent to the school to carry out investigations.
