Level of compliance with health and safety standards for the emergency response in secondary schools in Sabatia District, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the level of compliance with health and safety standards for the emergency response in secondary schools in Sabatia District, Vihiga County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were to; analyze the extent to which secondary schools had complied with health and safety standards for the emergency response in the provision of infrastructure, to determine secondary schools' levels of preparedness in dealing with emergencies caused by fire, assess the relevance of emergency response training for the head teachers in secondary schools. in Sabatia District to compliance with health and safety standards.

The other objectives of the study were to establish the competence of health and kitchen workers in secondary schools in dealing with emergency in health and hygiene and determine whether the tenure of head teachers led to high levels of compliance. Survey design was used to carry out the research that targeted all the 28 secondary schools in the district. Data was collected through the use of questionnaires and observation schedule. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to generate tables, bar graphs and pie charts that were used to analyze data.

The findings of this research show that a majority of secondary schools in Sabatia District had complied with health and safety standards for the emergency response in the provision of infrastructure and in hygiene. All the schools had over 60% compliance in provision of perimeter fence, doors to the buildings opening outwards, stairs on both ends of storey buildings, emergency exits on laboratories, halls and dormitories, removal of window grills and long walls of classrooms running from east to west. There was however less than 20% compliance by schools on the fitting of lightning arrestors on buildings.

On hygiene, there was over 80% compliance by schools in providing uniform to their non-teaching staff and medical examination of food handlers. There was less than 30% compliance by all schools in provision of first aid kits, sanatorium and hiring of qualified health personnel. Most schools had not complied in the area of emergency response against fire. The conclusion drawn from this research is that most schools had not fully complied with the health and safety standards for the emergency response. The researcher recommends training of all head teachers in school health and safety. He also recommends for provision of resources to facilitate fixing of lightning arrestors on the buildings.