The Ministry of Education under CS George Magoha has issued a directive regarding the school reopening dates after President Uhuru Kenyatta suspended learning activities in the country.
Education PS Julius Jwan stated that they will analyse the Covid-19 pandemic at the end of April 2021 to ascertain whether students will resume classes or not.
He added that the decision will be based on the information provided by the Ministry of Health officials and other education stakeholders. However, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe and his Education counterpart Magoha will make the final decision.
“We have enough time to make a well-informed conclusion. It will be good if teachers, whom we have prioritised, get vaccinated,” Jwan said.
Uhuru, on Friday, March 26, suspended all physical actities in schools until further notice. The Head of State cautioned that the virus may flatten within 60 days, thus causing speculation on reopening dates and the academic calendar.
“This wave is expected to peak in the next 30 days with more than 2,500 to 3,000 cases reported daily. Based on experience, this peak will flatten only by Mid-May 2021, which is about 60 days from now (March 26).
“With respect to Education in Kenya, there shall be the immediate suspension of all on-going physical learning in all our education institutions including universities and tertiary and vocational colleges, other than for candidates sitting for their examinations and those in medical training institutions, until otherwise notified,” Uhuru directed.
The government will cater for KCSE students who are currently sitting national exams by ensuring that they are facilitated back home during the pandemic.
This is after Uhuru also restricted movement and locked down Nakuru, Nairobi, Machakos, Kiambu, and Kajiado counties terming them disease active zones.
According to the revised education calendar dates, Term Three was scheduled to start on May 10, 2021, and would run until July 16. This means that an extension of the Covid-19 measures may spell the worse for parents and students who were already affected by school closure in 2020.
Students were forced to sit home for six months, from July 2020 to December 2020 after Education CS Magoha scrapped off the academic calendar. Schools reopened on January 4, 2021, only to be shut down two months later.
