Parents of students attending Buruburu Girls School have expressed their dissatisfaction with the institution’s demand for Kshs. 1,500 per learners following a fire incident that affected one of the girls’ dormitory sections.
The fire incident happened on Sunday the 31st of October 31 with one of the dormitories catching fire, leading to some students having to escape through windows. Some of the girls were seen jumping multiple stories to the ground.
59 students had to be quickly taken to a nearby medical facility after suffering injuries as worried parents streamed to the school to check on the beloved children.
However, following the incident, a number of parents have revealed that they experienced a surprising hostile welcome from the school’s administration when they returned their children to the school on Tuesday, the 9th of November 2021.
“We had a feeling that with the way the teachers were handling themselves, something was amiss. Even just parking cars in the school compound was not allowed. How can we parents who are stakeholders and a crucial part of the school be treated like we are the ones who engaged in arson? We only came to help the school move forward. This was supposed to be a time for reconciliation with the learners, parents and teachers. Besides, they should not assume that all the learners were involved,” said one of the parents, Mr Peter, who was visibly stressed.
Parents said that the quoted figure that was to cover for damages did not make any financial sense. They argued that just one burnt cubicle cannot warrant a requirement of a compulsory compensation fee of Kshs. 1,500 from every earner.
With the institution said to be having just over 1,500 parents the figure collected could reach well over Kshs. 2.2 million. All this amount is to cover only for repairs that are to be done on just one cubicle in the school.
However, the school’s administration defended the amount saying that the figure is to cover among other things the repair of the cubicle in addition to other expenses that were used on the day of the fire incident such as to pay for the ambulance, the fire brigade, insurance and charges at the hospital.
Parents directed blame at the school for not providing enough security in the school compound, with one of the fences incomplete. Besides the administration was blamed for installing harsh rules going forward to ensure both students and parents do not have a say in almost everything.
At the moment of writing this article, two learners had been nabbed in connection with the fire that burnt the cubicle, and have since been arraigned in court.