Go slow on covering school fires, Sakaja tells media
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja.
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has asked media houses to limit their coverage of school fires amid a wave of student unrest in the country.
Sakaja, while speaking on Tuesday before Senate, suggested that as more fire incidents are reported by the media, this increases the likelihood of other students resorting to burning their schools because of peer pressure.
He made the comments while he updated the House on the fire that broke out at Buruburu Girls High School in Nairobi.
"The problem is when we start reporting on these fires...they say 'have you seen Buruburu Girls? When are we doing ours?' In fact, I would ask the media to limit how they report on these fires because when other students see it others also want to do it because it is now cool," he said.
Further, the legislator noted that something is wrong with how students are handled, adding that life pressures were causing mental breakdowns in learners.
Sakaja revealed that before the Buruburu fire, the school had already got information that some girls were unhappy with how they were being handled.
"The was communication to the principal about some discontent from Form 3 girls who are being categorised according to performance...there's something wrong with how we're dealing with students at that age," he said.
He spoke on the same day that the Ministry of Education heeded headteachers' calls to have a midterm break for secondary schools.
The ministry has directed that the half-term break starts Friday November 19. Students will then resume learning on Tuesday November 23.
This will be a relief for learners who had no break this term after the government adjusted the education calendar to make up for time lost during the 10-month school closure last year during the pandemic.
