Security resolves to keep Masaka SS open following fire outbreak 

Masaka district security committee and Masaka senior secondary school management have resolved to keep the school in operation following a fire outbreak that razed down a students’ dormitory.

The fire that broke out in the wee hours of Monday, destroyed a block of the girls’ dormitory which was accommodating close to 100 students of senior four and six. The fire reduced to ashes students’ properties including bedding, clothes, books and other scholastic materials.

On Tuesday morning, several panicky parents rushed to the school, demanding to take their children home until the situation normalized. It was an overwhelming moment for security wardens and teachers as they struggled to block the parents who forcefully entered the school premises to pick up their children.  

The school headteacher Hajj Musa Musoke Mpungu said a crisis meeting between the security and board of governors has resolved to keep the school in operation so that students can prepare to write their final examinations. According to Mpungu, despite the heavy property losses, all the students escaped unhurt, and there is no justifiable reason to halt studies, adding that they are going to mobilize for books and other materials to enable them to continue with lessons.  

“The meeting has resolved that the school continue operating to avoid situations that would cause disruptions to candidates given the short time they are remaining with to writing of final examination,” he noted. 

The examination timetable released by the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) shows that senior four candidates will undergo a briefing this Friday, October 13, and commence exams on October 16 while senior six candidates will have a briefing on November 10 and start writing exams on November 13. 

He says that management is already working out plans of fixing the situation, and are going to ensure that the affected students get another dormitory to accommodate them. Unlike the students who were traumatized by the fire, Mpungu says the teachers remained composed and are currently providing counselling to the students to help them recover from the tragedy. 

Greater Masaka police spokesperson Jamada Wandera says they are going to maintain a security presence at the school to continue monitoring the situation. According to Wandera, preliminary reports suggest that the fire outbreak resulted from power short-circuiting, which occurred in a ceiling in one of the students’ dormitories.

In 2016, Masaka secondary school also operates in Masaka, was closed, and ten male students arrested on allegations of attempting to set the school ablaze in a foiled strike as they demanded the removal of the headteacher whom they accused of maladministration and highhandedness.