A senior one student of Ngai Senior Secondary School, Immaculate Ayo, was killed following a stampede triggered by a phone battery explosion.
Ayo succumbed to her injuries at Anyeke health centre IV over the weekend. The incident, which occurred in the reading room, left 30 other students injured. According to preliminary reports, the explosion was caused by a mobile phone battery that had been ‘tied’ with rubber bands and plugged into a socket by an unidentified student.
Suddenly, the battery exploded, causing panic. The blast sparked panic among students, leading to a deadly stampede. The Ugandan education policy prohibits students in both primary and secondary schools from possessing mobile phones.
Being found with one typically results in immediate expulsion as part of stringent disciplinary regulations. James Shilaku, resident district commissioner of Oyam and chairperson of the district security committee, said investigations reveal that many schools in the district are failing to enforce the mobile phone ban.
Beatrice Auma Okello, the district secretary for education, acknowledged the ongoing challenge of preventing unauthorised items, such as mobile phones, from entering school premises.
She attributed the issue largely to peer influence and called for continuous sensitization of students. Okello also emphasized the need for schools to implement surveillance and monitoring systems and encouraged the use of computers strictly for academic purposes instead of allowing mobile phones.
