Senate questions Magoha’s decision to reopen schools now, his leadership

The senate questioned Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha’s ability to lead the Ministry of Education and the decision he made to reopen schools as COVID-19 cases are seemingly on the rise in the country.

Members of Parliament, however, supported the decision to reopen schools but faulted the Ministry of Education for not being able to prove to Kenyans how safe schools are as Grade 4, Class Eight, and Form four students prepare to resume learning on October 12, 2020.

Speaking at the floor of the House, Senator Moses Wetangula said the Ministry had not yet shown how prepared schools are as regards to the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 guidelines.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei said Magoha was only good at flip-flopping when providing information on the matters concerning education.

He questioned how parents could be able to prepare for the reopening f schools because of the economic recession caused by the novel coronavirus that has rendered many parents jobless and without any source of income.

“The government should shelve the order to reopen schools and wait until parents are prepared enough to take their children to school,” he said.

Senator Amos Wako was also concerned about how schools could meet COVID-19 guidelines such as social distancing, as there are schools that normally have a huge number of students leading to congestion.

“Most schools do not have enough infrastructure that can cope with the challenges of COVID-19. Is there enough time to put up infrastructure when schools reopen on Monday?” said Senator Amos Wako.

Reopening of Schools on Monday

These concerns come a few days after Education CS Magoha announced phased resumption of learning on Tuesday for Grade four, Class Eight and Form Four students from Monday 12, October 2020.

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination will commence on March 22, 2021, run for three days and be completed on March 24, 2021, while the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination will begin on March 5, 2021, and be finished on April 16, 2021.

However, a Kisii Court ruled that schools should only reopen once they have complied with all the COVID-19 guidelines as issued by the Ministry of Health.