- Astiba Kebong’o says learner safety begins the moment children leave home and should remain a shared responsibility until they return safely.
- He argues that schools, parents, transport providers and government must strengthen learner transport systems to prevent avoidable tragedies.
- The article calls for better accountability, technology and child protection measures to safeguard learners on their daily journeys.
Every school morning, millions of Kenyan parents entrust schools with what they value most—their children.
Learners board school buses and vans expecting to arrive safely at school, receive quality education and return home unharmed at the end of the day.
Yet incidents involving missing learners, school transport accidents and child safety concerns continue reminding the country that the journey to and from school is just as important as the learning that takes place in the classroom.
Kenya’s Constitution guarantees every child’s right to protection, education and dignity.
Article 53 recognises the best interests of the child as paramount in every matter concerning children, while Article 28 guarantees every person’s right to dignity.
The Children Act, 2022 and the Basic Education Act, 2013 further require schools to provide safe learning environments and protect learners from harm while under their care.
Education experts argue that this duty of care reasonably extends to school-organised transport.
Stronger transport systems
Schools are encouraged to establish comprehensive learner transport policies.
Every learner using school transport should be registered, with designated pick-up and drop-off points agreed upon with parents or guardians.
Attendance should be confirmed when learners board and alight from school vehicles to ensure no child goes missing unnoticed.
Technology can further strengthen learner safety through GPS tracking, CCTV cameras, electronic attendance registers and automated notifications informing parents when learners board or leave school buses.
Bus attendants remain among the most important but often overlooked guardians of learner safety.
Their responsibilities include supervising orderly boarding, ensuring learners are safely seated, monitoring behaviour during the journey, assisting younger children and confirming that no learner remains inside the vehicle.
School bus drivers equally carry significant responsibility.
Education experts say drivers should never move until learners have safely boarded or cleared the danger zone after alighting.
Strict adherence to speed limits, routine vehicle inspections, defensive driving and child safeguarding practices should remain standard practice.
Parents and teachers
Parents continue to play a central role by teaching children personal safety, maintaining communication with schools and ensuring only authorised individuals collect learners.
Teachers should promptly follow up whenever learners fail to arrive at school or return home as expected.
Schools are encouraged to maintain updated emergency contacts and effective communication systems to respond quickly whenever concerns arise.
School Boards of Management should regularly review transport safety procedures, conduct emergency drills and ensure transport providers comply with legal requirements.
Government agencies, including the Ministry of Education, county governments and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), are also urged to strengthen regulation, inspections and enforcement of school transport standards.
Many institutions have already adopted structured transport systems involving licensed transport providers, trained drivers, vetted attendants, insurance cover and modern safety technologies.
These examples demonstrate that well-managed transport systems significantly reduce risks to learners.
Shared responsibility
Ultimately, learner safety cannot be delegated to a single individual or institution.
It requires cooperation among schools, parents, teachers, drivers, attendants, school boards and government agencies.
Education begins the moment a child leaves home and should only end when they return safely.
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Protecting learners is therefore not only a constitutional obligation but also a moral responsibility and one of the clearest measures of a nation’s commitment to its future.
By Astiba Kebong’o
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