Every time something comes to an end, something else begins. There has been an irreversible increase in fires in schools, which have destroyed educational institutions, particularly secondary and primary schools, putting the lives of school-going children at stake as well as the entire education sector. A lot of thoughts linger amongst parents on whether it is the end of a beginning or the beginning of the end, given the escalating range of fires in schools.
This week, four pupils died and two others were admitted with severe burns after a fire gutted their dormitory at Victory Nursery and Primary School in Busia town. The case is just one out of a series of fatal fire outbreaks that Uganda’s education sector has witnessed in the 2024 academic year.
Parents and the entire country are still recovering from the tragic incidents of fire outbreaks, for example, the April 14, 2008 fires that gutted Buddo Junior Schools and left 20 leaners dead and the 2022 Salama School for the Blind in Luga village and Ntanzi parish in Mukono district that left over 12 pupils dead, among other cases.
Arson has been ranging in the education fraternity, but why hasn’t there been a comprehensive mechanism and everlasting solution to the problem? The Ministry of Education and the Uganda Police ought to be probed for this!
According to the annual crime report released by the Uganda Police, the number of fires in 2023 was reduced to 1,144 from 1,258 registered in 2022, but this has not done anything about reducing the threats of death prevailing over our children while at school. Fire prevention and protection mechanisms have, however, not been enhanced to protect school-going children.
In Uganda, only 13% of schools have implemented mechanisms to safeguard learners against fire outbreaks and their consequences, according to the February 2024 research findings from the National Buildings Review Board (NBRB). The assessment was conducted between May 2022 and May 2023 in collaboration with the ministries of local government, gender, Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs, police, and the private school proprietors.
The research discovered that of all fire incidents in the country, 35% occur in schools, with commercial buildings accounting for 52% and residential buildings contributing 13%. Human actions, particularly arson, emerged as the primary cause, responsible for two out of every three fires. Negligence with items like charcoal stoves, electrical faults, natural occurrences (lightning), and maintenance works like welding were identified as other significant causes. Is there any policy in place to address these causes? Ineffective yet!
The fabric of the country is crumbling; there is no future for any country without education; our children are dying from school fires; and nobody cares! Where does the future of the education sector lie if concerns about the lives of schoolchildren are not addressed? Are children sent to school to die or to be burned by fire? Like other Ugandan parents, I am worried!
There are many more questions than answers on why, and who? is to blame for threatening the lives of our children while at their schools. Could the target be our children, schools, or the entire education sector? Putting the blame games aside, is there anything that could be done to ensure the safety of schoolchildren against being burned? Is it the end of a beginning or the beginning of the end of the escalating range of fires in schools?
Richard Bard Byamukama is a lawyer and also a student of security and strategic studies
