Kenya’s Ministry of Education will today hold a crisis meeting over the reopening of schools which were shut in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
To clear the confusion surrounding school resumption, Education CS, Prof. George Magoha has invited stakeholders to a meeting at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).
Following the presidential directive on convening a national consultative conference to chart Kenya’s post-COVID-19 future, the stakeholders in the education sector are required to deliberate and give their input on this critical issue.
While the government is pushing for an October reopening of the schools, the chairman of Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha), Kahi Indimuli, says schools are not ready for reopening schools because no funds have been released to help them to prepare.
He added that earlier proposals to reopen schools in October were rejected by the taskforce.
“We agreed to reopen schools in January 2021 for a fresh start,” said Mr Indimuli.
Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association (Kepsha) chairman Nicholas Gathemia said they will be waiting to follow ministries directives.
“Once the agenda of the meeting is known, we shall give our position,” he said.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary-general, Akelo Misori, said the meeting won’t discuss whether to open schools before the end of the year “because that will interfere with the school calendar.”
He added that what is on the ground ahead of the school reopening is not encouraging “as no efforts have been made to improve school infrastructure and install water in the institutions.”
Invited to the meeting are the education task force response committee on Covid-19 chair Dr Sarah Ruto; Ministry of Education officials; the Kenya National Union of Teachers, the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers, the Kenya Parents Association; Universities Academic Staff Union, the Kenya Private Schools Association, Kenya Special Needs Heads Association and the Teachers Service Commission.