Parents of school-going children now reportedly want schools reopened. A legal battle could also take place between the government of Kenya and the parents having children who go to school over the reopening of schools. All learning institutions were closed in March by the government to control the spread of the coronavirus.
As per the contents of the letter written to the Attorney General Paul Kihara, the Ministry of Health and the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education Prof George Magoha, parents want schools reopened with immediate effect. If this does not happen, they have threatened to go to court over the same.
The letter written by lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui said on behalf of parents that the government’s move to open places of worship and restaurants contradicted the decision to close schools.
“You cannot claim that the closure of schools pose a greater risk of contracting COVID-19 than the reopened Social points (such as restaurants and places of worship),” Lawyer Kinyanjui wrote in a letter quoted by the Standard.
The lawyer claimed that the reopening of social places posed a greater risk of contraction of the coronavirus than schools. He went on to compare other countries like the UK, Sweden, Taiwan, France, Germany, Italy, Ivory Coast, DRC, Netherlands, Uruguay, Denmark, most states in the USA and Tanzania. In these countries or states, schools were reopened despite the risk of COVID-19.
The parent’s letter came barely days after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) asked school headteachers to organize on how learners will be taught within their places of residence.
Secondary School Heads Association national chairperson, Kahi Indimuli claimed that the programme might entice parents to take their children to nearby schools to avoid spending a lot of money onboarding and transport costs.
Education CS Magoha said schools will reopen in January 2021 amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Prof George Magoha also predicted a spike in new COVID-19 infections in between September and November saying that the cases would have reduced significantly by January 2021.