Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha issued a directive on reopening of schools after President Uhuru Kenyatta suspended learning across the country.
This is following the novel coronavirus’s third wave taking center stage and forcing the government to act to curb its spread.
Education Permanent Secretary Julius Jwan said that the government shall analyze the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of the month of April 2021 to determine when students shall resume learning.
The PS added that the government will base the decision on information that the officials of the Ministry of Health shall provide alongside other stakeholders of education.
Cabinet Secretary for Health Mutahi Kagwe and his Education Ministry counterpart will be responsible for making the final decision.
“We have enough time to make a well-informed conclusion. It will be good if teachers whom we have prioritized, get vaccinated, said Julius Jwan.
His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday the 26th of March 20221 suspended all learning activities in schools until further notice.
The president urged caution, saying that the virus may flatten within the next 60 days. This caused speculation regarding the dates that schools shall reopen as well as 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 shall flatten by Mid-May 2021. This is about 60 days from now.
“With respect to education in Kenya, there shall be an immediate suspension of all ongoing physical learning in all our institutions of learning including universities and tertiary and vocational colleges. Other than for candidates sitting for their examinations and those in medical training institutions, until notified otherwise,” directed President Uhuru.
The government will ensure that KCSE students in schools reach home once they complete their examination during the pandemic. This is despite travel restrictions and an imposed lockdown in the counties of Nakuru, Nairobi, Machakos, Kiambu, and Kajiado. These counties were termed disease active zones.
The revised academic calendar provides that the third term shall begin on the 10th of May and run till the 16th of July 2021.
An extension of the COVID-19 containment measures could mean bad news for parents and learners who already had gone through a prolonged closure of schools for six months. Schools were closed in March 2020 following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Schools eventually reopened on the 4th of January 2021 and have now been closed after two months.