The Principal Secretary in the State Department for Early Learning and Basic Education Dr Julius Jwan has implored teachers to let parents spend quality time with their children during the school holidays.
He directed teachers not to keep learners in school for holiday tuition saying that learners need to have a rest in the timelines allowed by the government. Schools are currently closed and children are supposed to be at home relaxing before embarking on the rigorous and congested academic calendar.
Dr Julius Jwan was at Mombasa where he attended the Kenya Private Schools Association Annual Conference held on the 5th of July.
The PS was responding to reports that some head teachers did not allow children to go home for the school holiday and had continued to teach against the government’s directive that learners should be allowed to have the ten-day holiday before returning for the second term of the 2022 academic year.
Following the prolonged closure of all learning institutions in 2020 that was intended to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, schools reopened in a congested academic calendar. The congested calendar will last until the end of this year before schools resume the normal timelines for an academic year next year.
“Give parents time to be with their children,” said Dr Julius Jwan.
The Ministry of Education has allocated breaks despite a congested fixture in order to allow learners to relax and bond with their children. In the view of the government, this plays an important role in the growth and development of children.
The Basic Education Act does not allow holiday tuition and any person who flouts the guidelines commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment for a period that does not exceed 6 months or both.