Nairobi, June 9 -- The recent fire tragedy at Utumishi Girls Academy was a most unfortunate incident that shocked us all. Since then, it has been reported that there has been a spate of unrest in other schools, some of which have had students sent home.

The incidents should awaken us to examine what has been going wrong and what could be done better to prevent disasters in the institutions, considering that parents entrust their children to schools for education, basic care, and safety.

More importantly, we must go further and design, and adopt a deliberate preventive system that addresses underlying issues, root causes, triggers, contributing factors and system failures.

The Safety Standards Manual for Schools (2008) is a good startin...