Parents of students who tragically lost their lives in a poisoning incident at Mukumu Girls High School will receive compensation from the government.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu informed the Senate that each parent will receive Ksh. 400,000 as compensation for the loss of their child. The government has allocated a total of Ksh. 1.2 million to compensate the parents of the three students who perished due to food poisoning at the school.
In response to a question from Kakamega Senator Bonny Khakwale, Machogu clarified that no criminal charges will be instituted against the former school principal, Fridah Ndolo, or the school administration. He stated that the multi-agency team assigned to investigate the incident found no criminal culpability on the part of the school administration.
According to Machogu, the investigation reports received so far do not provide evidence to hold any individual accountable or take them to court. He mentioned that the principal, who is due to retire in December, has been temporarily reassigned to the provincial director’s office while investigations continue.
Read also: Mukumu Girls Secondary abrupt closure due to food poisoning
As of May 30, a total of 1,962 students had reported to the school, with 44 yet to report and 56 requesting transfers from the institution.
However, Senators raised concerns about the occurrence of such an incident despite the presence of guidelines and protocols. They questioned the measures put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Majority leader Aaron Cheruyot expressed his concern over the loss of students’ lives and called for collective action from the Ministry of Education and those responsible. He questioned why the breach occurred when guidelines were in place and inquired about the ministry’s efforts to prevent future loss of life.
Machogu responded by acknowledging the weakness in enforcing guidelines and directions. He assured the Senators that measures have been implemented to address this issue, including empowering education officers to enforce the guidelines effectively.
Read also: Ministry of Health Gives Guidelines on Cholera Outbreak in Mukumu Girls High School
“One area that we have identified as a weakness is ensuring that guidelines and directions are enforced. We have now corrected this by empowering education officers to monitor and enforce compliance,” Machogu stated.
The compensation provided by the government aims to support the grieving parents as they cope with the tragic loss of their children. The incident has highlighted the need for strict adherence to guidelines and enhanced measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in schools in the future.
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