Uganda Police has issued a reminder to all schools on guidelines of keeping schools safe in the wake of the Rakai fire at St Benard’s SS Mannya on Sunday.
On Monday, police put the death toll from the fire that gutted a Senior Three dormitory at nine. Other reports put the number at 11.
The number of the injured stands at 37 and are admitted at the hospitals of of Kitovu, Masaka Referral and Kalisizo.
Addressing reporters at police headquarters in Kampala, police spokesperson Emilian Kayima said it was “imperative that all schools be reminded to take note of the safety guidelines that were issued sometime back when the country was dogged by fires”.
“For purposes of adherence, parents, the mother ministry and the security sector ought to reawaken the call for safer schools, safer communities now,” said Kayima.
Some of the School Safety Guidelines;
1. Activating safety and security committees for staff and learners.
2. Putting in place controlled access to premises
3. Holding regular meetings with staff and other people relevant to create awareness and create responsiveness
4. Set up crime prevention clubs in schools
5. Beef up security within the school premises through a system that involves all stakeholders like employing teachers to be on duty on a 24/7 hour basis, working with the guards, put in place a proper identification system, have a clear record keeping system, conduct regular and snap checks etc
6. Build and nurture a close working relationship with the neighboring communities of particular schools
7. Providing and offering professional counselling services to students.
8. Private security guards have to be appropriately recruited, vetted and trained to fully appreciate security related matters that is their docket. It is not enough to hire them. It goes beyond this.
9. Put in place robust fire safety measures in all schools: Fire hydrants, firefighting equipment, training of the school community in fire fighting, setting up assembly points, avoiding burglar proofs in dormitories as increased safety most likely compromises security.
10. Manage those criminal minded members of the school community appropriately for instance those with cases of indiscipline. A known system to address this should be put in place for that all adhere to and sanctions for not doing so should be known.
