ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOLS SECURITY PREPAREDNESS AND STUDENTS SAFETY: A CASE OF PUBLIC BOARDING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN TRANS-NZOIA COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The Kenyan government is committed to ensure access, equity, participation, retention, completion and quality of education at all levels. Education is bound to be affected if safety and security concerns of students are not addressed fully. The study examined security preparedness of the schools since there were recurrent safety problems in public boarding secondary schools even after release of the safety standards manual by the Ministry of Education in the year 2008.The study sought to establish the following objectives: establish the level of compliance of the school safety standards in public boarding secondary schools, examine the effect of existing crime prevention practices safety in public boarding secondary schools, find out the levels of awareness of school safety measures among students and staff in public boarding secondary schools, establish the challenges of implementing security measures on student safety in public boarding secondary schools in Trans-Nzoia County. The study was based on Invitational Theory which asserts that in order to facilitate learning, students should be provided with an environment that is optimally safe and conducive by enhancing the powerful 5 Ps: People, Places, Policies, Programs and Processes. The study used descriptive survey research design. The study employed a mixed method approach that utilized both quantitative and qualitative method of data collection. The study targeted 40 principals, 754 teachers, 22,562 students and 84 security officers in 40 public boarding secondary schools in Trans-Nzoia County. The study used simple random sampling and purposive sampling procedure to select boarding secondary schools. The total sample was 403 respondents which comprised of 20 principals, 143 teachers, 220 students and 20 security officers. Questionnaires, interview schedule, document analysis, observation checklist and focus groups were used as data collection instruments. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistical techniques that were frequencies and percentages. The hypotheses were tested using Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient. Qualitative data was analysed thematically. Data was v presented in tables and figures. The study established that most schools had not complied with the ministry of education safety standards, majority of the teachers, students and staff were not trained and aware of the safety measures, crime prevention measures were not very effective because cases of crime still prevailed in the schools therefore the schools were not fully prepared for student safety. The study established that student indiscipline was a safety threat to other students. It was also found that lack of finances was a safety challenge while majority of the teachers stated that security threats were within the school environment. The common challenges faced while implementing security measures were overstretched physical facilities, hostile school neighbours, hostile teachers, low number of security officers, students’ indiscipline and students losing lives while in school. The study recommends that: The schools should comply with Ministry safety standards to guarantee students safety. Crime prevention practices like instituting crime prevention committee, training and putting structures in place for prevention of crime should be enhanced by the school administration. This will guarantee students safety. The student, teacher and any other stake holder should be sensitized on the safety rule. All schools should have qualified clinical officers who can attend to students’ ailments at any time. The school principals should allocate funds that will facilitate activities that enhance student safety in schools.