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Masaka, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Police in Masaka district have undertaken training of all school guards and night watchmen to improve the safety of learners and their properties.
Charles Okello, the District Police Commander in Masaka City indicates their intervention is a response to the recurrent insecurity incidents which include fire outbreaks that have been reported in schools in the recent past.
He says that have instructed all school administrators in the area to send their guards for compulsory training, such that they get equipped with improved security skills, for the safety of learners and the school properties.
Last term, Masaka City registered two fire incidents at Kasaana Junior School in Nyendo-Mukungwe division, where 11 pupils were burnt to death, and Masaka Secondary Schools where a girls’ dormitory was also burnt and several properties were destroyed.
These followed other incidents that included burglaries that occurred in the different schools in the area.
Okello says they have found it necessary to take all school guards into additional security training, such that they can measure up to the standards required to avert similar eventualities.
According to him, their investigations in some of these incidents established that the majority of security guards hired by school managers lacked even the basic surveillance and intelligence skills to detect and prevent eventualities including robberies.
Jamada Wandera, the Greater Masaka Deputy Regional Police Commander says they have designed a two-week training module for all the school guards, to equip them with specialized skills, in detecting crime, fire fighting, and rescue services.
He explains that they have asked all the school administrators to send their guards to the Masaka Police Playground to undergo refresher training.
According to Wandera, while some schools can afford to hire private security guards who receive some basic training ahead of recruitment, some schools still deploy casual night watchmen who have no prior training, which makes the learners so vulnerable to risks.
Wandera observes that they have organized the training programs into three schedules, beginning with the primary school guards, and secondary and tertiary institutions.
Stephen Kakeeto, the Masaka City Education Officer says they have also considered making it mandatory for all schools to strictly hire skilled security guards.
“We are going to make it a mandatory requirement for any school before their operational license is renewed. The administrators that fail to send their guards for training may not be allowed to open next year,” he warned.
The Basic Requirement and Minimum Standards Indicators for Education Institutions Policy of 2009, issued by the Ministry of Education and Sports, make it mandatory for all schools to set up safety and security committees and hire trained guards working day and night to ensure the safety of learners and premises.
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