- Education stakeholders have urged school managers to assign only experienced drivers familiar with the routes to Kibabii University as thousands of learners have travelled to Bungoma for the National Music Festivals.
- School heads have been reminded to ensure all transport vehicles are roadworthy, insured and compliant with traffic regulations, while drivers have been cautioned against speeding and reckless driving.
- Teachers accompanying learners have been called upon to maintain close supervision throughout the journey and the festival to safeguard participants’ wellbeing.
School managers have been urged to place learner safety above all else as thousands of pupils and students travel to Bungoma County for the ongoing National Music Festivals, with education stakeholders specifically calling for only experienced drivers who know the routes to Kibabii University to be assigned to ferry participants.
The annual festival, which brings together primary, junior secondary and senior schools from across the country, has turned Bungoma into a hive of activity this week, with hundreds of institutions transporting learners, teachers, adjudicators and education officials to the venue to compete in music, dance, choral verse, spoken word and cultural performances.
With such a large number of schools converging on one location, education stakeholders have flagged the resulting surge in road traffic as a key safety concern, cautioning that school administrators and transport providers need to exercise extra vigilance for the duration of the event. They noted that drivers who are well acquainted with the roads leading to the venue are far better placed to navigate safely, avoid unnecessary delays and adjust quickly to changing road conditions, reducing the chances of accidents along the way.
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Beyond driver experience, school heads have been reminded of their responsibility to ensure that every vehicle used to transport learners to the festival is roadworthy, properly insured and fully compliant with traffic regulations before it is allowed to leave school grounds. Drivers handling these trips have similarly been cautioned against speeding, dangerous overtaking, driving while fatigued or engaging in any form of reckless conduct that could endanger the learners in their care.
The call for vigilance has not been limited to the road. Stakeholders have also urged teachers accompanying learners to maintain close supervision throughout the journey and for the entirety of the festival, ensuring that the wellbeing of every participant is safeguarded from the moment they leave school until they return home.
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The National Music Festivals remain one of Kenya’s largest co-curricular events, offering learners across all levels a platform to nurture their artistic talents, celebrate the country’s cultural diversity and interact with peers drawn from different regions, all while upholding the discipline and safety standards expected of such a large-scale gathering.
By Nyongesa Wekesa
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