The teachers’ employer has expressed concern over rising cases of deaths and disappearances in schools as learners start their first-term holiday.
This follows the death of a student at Maseno School in Kisumu County last week. Two cases of mysterious disappearance were also reported in separate secondary schools in Nyeri County last week as well as suicide cases.
SICKLE CELL
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) said it was taking the incidents seriously.
“The commission takes with utmost seriousness the safety of learners in schools,” said TSC’s Catherine Lenairoshi.
At Maseno School, Cyril Samuel Oyungu, 14, a Form One student who scored 422 marks at Amazing Grace International School last year, succumbed to sickle cell anaemia.
The school’s management could not be reached for comment on the incident.
On March 11, Kennedy Fundi, a Form Three student at Kangaru School in Embu died while receiving treatment at Nairobi Women’s Hospital.
On March 9, Ebbie Noelle Samuel, a student at St Annuarite Gatanga Girls Secondary School failed to wake up and when the school administration was called in, they found her struggling to breathe. She was pronounced dead upon arrival at Naidu Hospital in Thika.
DISAPPEARANCE
On March 3, Bethwel Agolae, a student at Bishop Atundo Boys-Kimaeti Secondary School in Bungoma County passed on while admitted to Bungoma West Hospital.
Cases of disappearance are also on the rise, with the latest being a student at Chinga Boys High School who has been missing for the past six weeks.
George Gitau Ikumi went missing on February 15 after sneaking out of the school, a day before they went home for the midterm break.
His mother, Hellen Gitau, recalls the shocking phone call she got from the school’s administration informing her the boy was missing.
“I was home when the deputy principal called to say Ikumi could not be traced. He said they had looked for him within the school and even in the surroundings but they could not find him,” narrated the mother of four.
A missing person report was made at Chinga police post and the matter was recorded in the Occurrence Book as OB26/1712/2019.
