Property of unknown value has been destroyed at Chewoyet High School in West Pokot following a fire that burned down a dormitory at dawn.
The dormitory was built recently but was razed by the mysterious inferno that started at around 5am Wednesday.
Principal Joseph Korir said the cause of fire had not yet been established but that police officers are investigating the incident.
He added that the county fire fighters responded and managed to contain the fire but it was too late to salvage the students’ properties.
He told parents who rushed to the school to find out the status of their children that all students were safe because the fire started when they were in class for morning studies.
MEET STUDENTS
The school’s Board of Management Chairman Tingaa Phillip said the security team and the school administrators will meet and deliberate on the way forward.
“We have not been able to establish the cause of the fire but the security team is conducting investigations to establish it,” said Mr Tingaa
He confirmed that no one was injured, adding that they would meet with the affected students later Wednesday to decide on whether they will be sent home or not.
“The dormitory and property worth millions of shillings were destroyed. Boxes, uniforms, bedding, beds and books were reduced to ashes,” he said.
But the angry parents demanded the disbandment of the school’s board over the frequent fire outbreaks.
They demanded an explanation on the outbreaks as Wednesday’s was the fourth fire at the school in the last three years.
PARENTS UNHAPPY
One of the parents, Mansour Mohammed, said that they are tired of their students being sent at home to buy bedding every year after dormitory fires.
“We are not leaving this school until we establish the truth. This is the fourth time within three years a dormitory is being razed in this school. We won’t leave until we get a solution. We are tired of paying extra money to cater for the damages caused by fires,” he said.
Another parent, Ms Esther Chepurayi, said the students should not be sent at home, adding that they are not ready to cater for the damages.
Kapenguria Ward MCA Maddy Polokou said the parents are struggling to pay school fees for their children and yet the school has never come up with a long-term solution to combat the fires.
County Education Executive Christine Apokoreng, who visited the school, called on schools in to be cautions and keen about students’ complaints which should be resolved before property is destroyed.