Form four students of Utumishi Girls Senior School on Thursday began reporting back to school following the dormitory fire that disrupted learning,

Students who began streaming in at 8 a.m. in the morning were going through frisking at the school gate before proceeding into school.

An officer frisks a student's belonging during the reopening of Utumishi Girls Senior School on July 2.

Photo credit: LELETI JASSOR / MTAA WANGU

Rift Valley Regional Director of Education James Indimuli said the Ministry of Education had assembled a multi-agency team comprising officials from the Public Service, the Teachers Service Commission, the school's interim management, and security agencies to support learners as they resumed classes.

He noted that a team of counsellors from the Public Service Counselling and Wellness Service would remain at the school until every learner had received psychosocial support.

Rift Valley Regional Director of Education James Indimuli during an interview with the Media after Utumishi Girls Senior School reopened on July 2

Photo credit: LELETI JASSOR / MTAA WANGU

"We have a team of counselors who are taking the children and the parents through counseling as they report to school," he said, adding that the exercise would continue for as long as necessary.

The regional education boss said the ministry had spent the last few days preparing the institution for the return of learners after consulting parents and putting in place temporary infrastructure.

The two temporary tent dormitories set up to accommodate form three Utumishi Girls students upon resuming to complete their second term

Photo credit: LELETI JASSOR / MTAA WANGU

"We are very prepared to receive the children. We met the parents on Monday and they confirmed that the school has put in place enough measures to ensure that the children are comfortable," he said, noting that the physical infrastructure of the school is in place to receive the children," he said.

Indimuli urged parents who had not yet brought back their daughters to do so, saying the response from families had been encouraging.

"I want to urge the parents to keep bringing the children, and I want to thank the parents for showing the kind of confidence they have in the team that is here to receive the children," he said.

One of the two temporary tent dormitories set up to accommodate form three Utumishi Girls students upon resuming.

Photo credit: LELETI JASSOR / MTAA WANGU

The regional director noted that counselling would remain the school's first priority before normal learning fully resumed.

He opined that teachers were equally prepared after undergoing counselling sessions earlier in the week.

"They have talked to the teachers, and you can already see a positive turnaround. The teachers are quite well prepared to receive the children and proceed with whatever it is we are supposed to be doing," he said.

Parents and students are taken through counselling by the Public Service Counselling and Wellness Service as Utumishi Girls Senior School reopened on July 2 after the fire

Photo credit: LELETI JASSOR / MTAA WANGU

Indimuli said the school expected about 150 Form Four students to report on Thursday, adding that nearly half had already arrived by the time he addressed the media.

He noted that Grade 10 students would report next Monday, with temporary accommodation already prepared.

Indimuli explained that part of the school hall, two dormitories, and two classrooms had been converted into hostels, while tents erected by the military would accommodate Form Three students.

"We have the tents put up by the military that are going to assist in settling the Form 3 and we believe that even the children will like them," he said.

Interim School Committee Chairperson Wilkister Vera assured parents that the institution remained safe and ready to receive learners.

"So we want to request the parents of Form 4 girls that they continue bringing the girls in, because we need to pick up and keep running," Vera said.

Wilikister Vera, Interim Chairperson Board of Management during an interview with the Media after Utumishi Girls Senior School reopening

Photo credit: LELETI JASSOR / MTAA WANGU

Looking ahead, Vera said temporary arrangements would support learning throughout July before reconstruction accelerated during the August holidays.

"During the August holiday, we are prepared to continue with the construction of the new block of the dormitories that is in place, and even renovate the old dormitory that had a fire tragedy," she said, appealing for support from well-wishers to aid the school's recovery efforts.

Leah Serem, a parent whose daughter was sleeping in the ill-fated dormitory, while noting she’s relieved of the school’s reopening, said that she was forced to buy new items after all her belongings were consumed in the fire.

"When we picked her up from school that day, she was terrified. She was enrolled in counselling, and she is doing quite well. We just pray the transition will be smooth,” she said.

LELETI JASSOR / MTAA WANGU — Leah Serem, a parent return her form four girl at Utumishi Girls Senior School after thw fire tragedy on May 28

The Ministry has also appointed former Langa Langa Mixed Secondary School Principal Rufina Mutegi Nkonge as the school's new principal to steer the institution through the recovery period as the former head was sent on a compulsory leave.

Jomo Kenyatta Boy’s school parents demand transfer of principal after series of unrest

Author Spotlight

Purity Kinuthia