Parents have been advised to keep a close eye on their children during the ongoing short break.
Learners across the country are at home for a ten-day holiday and shall resume learning on the 11th of August 2022.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education directed all schools to be closed from the 2nd to the 11th of August to allow for the general elections to be held on the 9th of August.
‘Parents pay close attention to your children’s education, especially the girl-child, see to it that the girl child education is not cut short because of teenage pregnancy,” said Kwale MP Benjamin Tayari.
MP Benjamin Tayari was speaking at the County Development Fund’s (CDF) project commissioning of 300 schools.
The Member of Parliament urged learners to listen to follow the directives issued by teachers and parents.
In addition, he asked parents to stay close to their children to ensure they were safe during this short break.
Tayari implored parents from Kwale County to prioritize girl-child education and said that most parents in the county do not give the required priority to the education of their daughters.
“I am ready to support you in all endeavours to see that future MPs, Women Representatives and the President come from this County,” added Tayari.
Tayari urged underprivileged parents to apply for bursaries at the county offices to their children’s learning is not interrupted.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the government closed all learning institutions for a period of around seven months in order to curb the spread of the virus. This meant learners stayed at home for the whole period leading to an increase in teenage pregnancies countrywide.
Children staying at home with their parents were thought to be safer but the dynamic changed when it was discovered that girls were unsafe at home owing to the number of teenage pregnancies recorded over that period.
The counties of Kwale and Kilifi located in the coastal region have a high prevalence of teenage pregnancies. Parents have been urged to play their part in averting this situation.