Kampala, Uganda
The Anglican Archbishop of Uganda and other influential clergy have expressed their sadness over a fire at a blind school earlier this week in which 11 girls died.
The clergy also suggested ways on how to stop the rampant school fires in Uganda.
Joyce Kaducu, Ugandan State Minister for Primary Education, talks to security officers during her visit to Salaama School of the Blind in Tuesday after the fire incident. PICTURE: John Semakula.
The Monday night fire at the Salama School for the Blind in Luga village in the central Mukono district, burnt one of the girls’ dormitories. Seven other girls were injured in the blaze with six in critical condition.
While reacting to the incident on Wednesday at Munyonyo in Kampala, Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu told Sight that “[i]t was sad to lose 11 vulnerable children in the school fire” and expressed his condolences with parents of the victims and the school.
“We need to give special attention to vulnerable children like the blind to minimise such incidents,” he added.
Kaziimba asked the government and other stakeholders in the education sector to ensure that schools for the vulnerable children are built to the required standards to reduce fire incidents similar to the one at Salama School for the Blind.
“Most of the school buildings for the vulnerable children are very old,” he said. “The buildings need to be repaired to reduce congestion in some of the dormitories.”
The prelate asked the Ugandan Ministry of Education to intensify the inspection of boarding schools to ensure they comply with the set standards. On previous occasions where school fires have killed students, authorities have cited congestion in the dormitories as being among the main causes.
Kaziimba also asked police to produce a comprehensive report on the causes of school fires to help the public deal with the problem. Since school fires became serious and rampant in Uganda almost 15 years ago, police have promised to produce a comprehensive report but have not yet done so.
In March this year, police issued a preliminary report on school fires for the period dated January 2022 to March, which covered 18 fire incidents. The report indicated that some of the school fires could have been deliberately set.
Pastor Solomon Male, executive director of Christian accountability organisation Arising For Christ, said the government needed to employ counsellors in all the schools in Uganda to help struggling students and teachers who could be burning schools. Currently in Uganda, the government does not hire trained counsellors in primary and secondary schools.
“If counselling is not done to help the children in schools overcome fear due to life’s challenges, you will not end school fires,” Male said, observing that there are hurting students who burn school buildings in order to get a chance to leave their schools.
Rev Dr Grace Lubaale, of Kyambogo University in Uganda, appealed to the Ministry of Education to make it mandatory for every school to purchase and install CCTV cameras to capture those burning the schools.
He also advised school owners to increase security personnel guarding their schools to deter those who plan to torch them.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Mukono where the Salama School for the Blind is located told Sight that if there is anyone who sets schools on fire to kill children, such a crime will never go unpunished before God.
