Govt shuts down Precious Talents School after death of 8 pupils

The government has shut down Precious Talents School in Nairobi following the tragic incident where a building collapsed at the institution killing eight pupils and injuring several others.

Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha on Thursday said the government had revoked the operating license of Precious Talents School as a crackdown continues on schools with substandard infrastructure.

The close to 800 pupils who were at Precious Talents School will be transferred to Ngong Forest Primary School, which will take up 480 learners, 180 will be taken to Jamhuri Primary School and 130 to Riruta Satellite Primary School.

According to Magoha, the Ministry of Education will provide desks and books for the learners at their new schools.

Earlier the Education CS had indicated that there was malpractice in the construction of the ill-fated two-storey structure and the tragedy would have been avoided had the rules been followed.

Addressing the press on Monday after the incident occurred, Prof. Magoha said owners of the school constructed an additional floor to the single-storey building without seeking approval, placing the pupils’ lives in danger.

“I have been to all the other classrooms and in my most humble opinion they are stable. So if a spade must be called a spade ahead of the investigations, you notice that somebody went and build another storey on top of the temporary structure. If you go ahead and do so without anybody’s approval I think we should be fair to each other including being fair to government,” said Magoha.

“If the owners of this school had remained with a single-storey building this accident should not have occurred. If we were working in an ideal situation, they should have come to ask for approval from the ministry which I can guarantee you they would not have gotten.”

CS Magoha had previously directed that Precious Talents School be closed for a week to allow for investigations into the Monday morning tragedy.

Meanwhile, Prof. Magoha has also announced the closure of Pama Academy in Kangemi. The 472 children at the school will be taken to Kihumbuini and new Kihumbuini Schools.

On Wednesday, the CS also shutdown St. Catherine’s Children Educational Centre in Kibra. According to Magoha, the structures at the school bore a likeness to the one at Precious Talents School.

CS Magoha has warned that the government will not stop until all schools with substandard structures are shut down.