SV: {UAH} Fires in our Schools Again, this time in Iganga!

Simon,

Firstly, my condolence to the family.

This is the kind of issue that readly engage me ((and many others just as Dan Bwanika, WBK and Hon´Karooro have been trying to uplift as late as last week)).

Sad that a fatal incidence should occur before responsible actors wake up.

Uganda has to be very consequent on legislations that clearly articulate provisions or pre-requisites for operation of public as well as private utility services such as schools, hospitals and clinic, restaurants & hotels,public as well as goods transport among others.

Operation licenses should have been renewed annually after certification of inspectors like PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTORS, BUILDING INSPECTORS, SCHOOL INSPECTORS, ENVIROMENTAL INSPECTORS.

Those that fall short of requirements or compliance should be fined or have their license suspended or withdrawn regardless!!

I GUESS THAT IS WHAT HON KAROORO WAS TRYING TO ACCENTUATE.

Sadly, Ugandan law makers are only keen on combat politics among themselves

and preserving real issue politics for the future when they themselves are in governance.

See, not even opposition politicians (except Dan Bwanika) hook up on positive opportunities like that presented by Hon Karooro last week. They should have jumped on to catalyse realisation.

Noc'la gaumoy

 

"WE FORM THE CULTURE THAT FORMS US"….noc'la gaumoy.

Den tisdag, 17 februari 2015 0:35 skrev 'Simon Okurut' via Ugandans at Heart (UAH) Community <ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com>:

 

Colleagues, 

School fires have again robbed us of the life of one seven year grade one kid in Tawheed Primary School in Iganga Town. We are told that the fire broke out at 7:30 pm. The little boy was sick and had remained in the dormitory and may have been asleep by the fire started.

 

This death reminds me of the many nights I feared for my children in Uganda before I brought them abroad. I always worried for the worst,not with the laxity of the school administrations in the various schools in the country. 

The  Ministry of Education and Sports should take drastic measures to ensure safety and better learning environment for our children.And to parents, I urge you to think seriously whether it is really good parenting to send such a small kid to live alone in the name of good education.  Most communities in Uganda today have schools nearby where even a seven year old can walk to and from home and come back to the care and love of his/her parents.  Kids could be sent to boarding schools in say grade five or so by which time they can somehow take care of themselves.

Sadly, in for the kids in this particular school, there seems to be no immediate information from the school administration , only reports from kids, where are the administrators? It looks as though the kids are left to mourn their own departed little soul as they narrate the ordeal, "We left him in the dormitory when he was asleep and in a short time we saw fire coming out of the windows," one of the pupils said.

These questions may help to initiate a discussion on school safety concerns:

1. What policies are in place in many of the schools especially during prep time? Are dormitories locked or not?
2. Is there a roll call for students to know who is in class and who has not gone for preps and where such a student could be?
3. Do dormitory captains remain in dormitories to guard the place as is a practice in some schools
4. Are school matrons and patrons always available to ensure safety of the children?
5. Do really all these boarding schools qualify to be boarding schools, do they meet human habitation standards? Are they certified/licensed to be boarding schools? Are they regularly inspected?
6. Safety aside, should young kids of such age be taken to boarding schools?

 

Peter Simon

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