St. Vincent Secondary School in Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County, is facing imminent closure after 6 of its pit latrines caved and the remaining 18 were declared structurally unsafe, exposing students and staff to serious health and safety risks. The Ministry of Health flagged the issue during an inspection, prompting swift intervention from the county government.
The alarming state of sanitation facilities has forced the Trans Nzoia County Government to initiate an emergency response plan. County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Education and Vocational Training, Janerose Mutama, who visited the school on Monday, described the situation as dire.
“There is a serious risk to the health and safety of both students and teachers,” Mutama stated. “The condition of the toilets is dire, and we must act urgently to avert a crisis. Although education is a national function, we cannot sit back and watch the school close,we must protect our children.”
Mutama directed the school to stop using the condemned toilets immediately and make arrangements for temporary sanitation facilities. She warned that continued use would endanger lives, citing a recent tragedy in Nandi County where three pupils died after a toilet collapsed.
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Mutama urged other schools to conduct immediate inspection of their sanitation infrastructure.
“All heads must be vigilant,” she cautioned. “Any signs of danger must be reported to the relevant authorities before disaster strikes.”
The school’s Board of Management warned that a closure would disrupt the academic calendar, especially with end-of-term and national examinations approaching. The County Public Health Department is expected to conduct a full assessment this week to determine both temporary and long-term solutions.
This crisis at St. Vincent Secondary School shines a light on the broader issue of crumbling infrastructure in rural schools across Kenya, worsened by persistent heavy rains that threaten poorly constructed buildings.
By Godfrey Wamalwa
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