BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT AT SEFULA SECONDARY SCHOOL IN WESTERN ZAMBIA

Safety and health management in schools is a growing concern in Zambia. Media reports on dilapidated infrastructure, unhealthy conditions and other cases of insecurity in schools have been on the rise. School administrators have tried to put safety and health measures in place. However, school administrators still face safety and health challenges. One such school that has been reported in Zambian media to have poor safety and health conditions is Sefula secondary school of western Zambia (Zambia Watchdog, May 14, 2014). This school was reported to have poor safety and health conditions. Therefore, this study sought to determine barriers to effective safety and health management at Sefula secondary school of Western Zambia. The study employed case study research design. Purposive sampling technique was used to obtain the needed sample of 15 stakeholders who are in school management at Sefula secondary school. Data was collected using unstructured interviews and focus group discussion. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The study established that the school faced barriers to effective safety and challenges management such as poor funding, lack of time, poor safety culture, lack of training in safety and health issues and so on.