Paint school buses yellow or keep them off roads: Kachapin

Two school buses painted yellow. Education Chief Administrative Secretary Simon Kachapin said the ministry will not extend the March 31 deadline to paint school buses yellow. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • In January, then Education CS Fred Matiang'i ordered that all school buses be painted yellow.
  • The deadline is March 31.
  • CAS Simon Kachapin said the deadline would not be extended.
  • Any vehicle that does not comply with the requirements will be grounded, he said.

The government will from Sunday tow or ground all school buses that are not painted yellow.

Education Chief Administrative Secretary Simon Kachapin said the ministry will work with the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and traffic police to crack down on school buses that do not meet the new regulations.

REGULATIONS

Regional and county directors of education are supposed to ensure all school buses are painted yellow by the March 31 deadline.

“The government has ruled out extension of the deadline on the directive that requires schools to paint buses yellow.

“All schools are supposed to have complied with this policy that was issued at the beginning of the year,” said Mr Kachapin.

Earlier, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang had directed school administrators to keep buses off the road if they do not comply with the directive by Saturday.

Speaking at St Peters Boys’ High School in Mumias during the Annual General Meeting, Mr Kachapin said principals who defy the directive would face the wrath of enforcement agencies.

“Even though majority of the schools, about 90 per cent, have complied with the directive, a few of them are yet to paint their buses yellow citing lack of funds,” he said.

The directive came in force in January this year when the then Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i ordered all school vehicles to be painted yellow and fitted with safety belts designed to be used by children.

FUNDING

Mr Kachapin, who was the chief guest at the AGM, said the ministry had allocated money for repairs to schools which should be used to repaint the buses.

“No school should give excuses of lacking funds to repaint their buses yellow.

“All public schools have received money from the government and the element of repairs is factored in the capitation,” he said.

The CAS urged school administrators to hire competent drivers and take them for retraining. Drivers should be regularly evaluated to ensure safety of students, he added.

Mr Kachapin cautioned Boards of Management against inflating school levies.

“I am conscious of the many challenges that schools continue to face as increased enrolment continues overstretching the existing infrastructure. Even though there are such challenges, all schools must stick to the gazetted fees guidelines,” he said.

Mr Kachapin urged school board members to be innovative in generating funds for the schools and using available resources to improve the quality of education.

“Let them come up with income generating activities to support school programmes instead of hiking school fees,” he added.