Learning institutions may soon reopen after closure due to CORONA Virus pandemic. The parents have quizzed the CS of Education George Magoha to open schools or face legal action.
The CS has been given an ultimatum until August 18, 2020 to open schools by September 1, 2020 by Parents, in a demand letter by lawyer Harrison Kinyajui.
Since the academic disruption, learning has stoked controversy and bitterness among parents. The teachers, parents and the learners are confused, they don’t know what to do because no proper guidelines on education have been put in place. Parents say that majority of the children have been discriminated on acquisition of knowledge. The issue of teen pregnancy was another burning issue. They claimed that the CS had no consideration for the welfare and the best interests of Kenyan children, and was serving foreign interests.
“It is not lost to these parents that simultaneous with your declaration of closure of schools, other adult persons in Kenya continue to enjoy the daily realization of their dreams, work schedules, business expansion, and aspirations over the same period; you have unlawfully discriminated against the voiceless school-enrolled, school-going children solely on account of their age,” the document read.
The parents didn’t see the difference why children were being allowed to attend The Community Based Learning (CBL) but not schools. Furthermore the children have been engaged in all manner of activities including open-air markets, supermarkets, cafeterias, places of worship but not schools.
“The overwhelming majority of Kenyan parents are ready and willing to provide their children with education as mandated by statutory but your ministry is the blockade irrationally standing in the way,” the demand letter stated.
The document raised concerns that the psychological and mental torture inflicted on school-going Kenyan children in
Consequence of the open-ended closure of schools was gravely injurious to them.
The parents also faulted the announcement that learners would have to repeat their studies in 2021.
“Your ministry has purported to launch online learning programs that remain a pipe dream across Kenya.
“Your ministry has to accept the harsh truth that you are injuring helpless children and in fact abusing your power to force these children to stay at home against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of parents and rational stakeholders,” the parents criticized.