Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu Thursday announced that the government will extend the second term to make up for time lost after a two-week reopening postponement due to floods.
Schools were to reopen for the second term on April 29 but the government put it off in the wake of heavy rainfall and devastating floods which have so far killed over 260 people.
President William Ruto this week announced that learners will resume classes Monday, May 13, based on weather forecasts indicating reduced rainfall from this weekend.
On Thursday, Machogu said the second term will be extended by a yet-to-be-determined period to enable schools to cover the syllabus ahead of this year’s national examinations in November.
“For Form Four candidates, we will see how we can recover time lost by extending [the second term by] a few days.
They were expected to close for three weeks in August and we might minimize the number of days schools will be closed,” he said.
He however noted that the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KSCE) and Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) examinations will not be postponed.
“The examination calendar remains the same; KCSE and KPSEA will be taken in the normal time from November,” said Machogu.
He allayed fears of learners’ safety during the school reopening, saying the government had assessed the situation and established that it is “manageable”.
“What we are getting from the experts is that we won’t have as much rain as we have had before. If anything, the situation is only improving all over the country,” Machogu said.
He said a section of schools in seven counties among them Tana River, Homa Bay, and Kisumu may not re-open on Monday.
He said his ministry will explore other learning options such as relocation of learners to safer centres.
Ruto on Monday announced a Sh1 billion allocation for reconstruction of schools damaged by floods.
Elsewhere, at least 62 primary schools across Kenya are either completely marooned or destroyed by the heavy rains and floods that are sweeping across the country, leaving over 15,000 learners without a place to learn as schools re-open next week.
Reports indicate at least 62 primary schools with an enrolment of over 15,000 learners, are not ready to open as their classrooms have been submerged, swept away, or sustained severe damage.
School reopening has been postponed twice to ensure children’s safety amidst the raging floods that have killed more than 250 people and displaced over 250,000.
The storms have caused destruction and damage to key infrastructure, including schools, health facilities, and homes.
About 34 cases of cholera have since been reported in Tana River and there are fears that this toll could rise as children resume school.
The assessment also indicates that over 20,000 toilet blocks are either sunken or severely damaged by raging floodwaters posing serious health risks to over 1.5 million learners across the country.
Nairobi’s informal settlements have been particularly hit, with families losing their homes and livelihoods.
For instance, Mathare slum has recorded over 7,000 people being displaced because of the heavy rains and flooding.
Children’s psychosocial well-being has also been acutely affected by the loss of family, friends, play areas, and familiar environments.
Further, drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, early marriages, and child labor are bound to rise due to the weakening of protective environments.
The rains have been amplified by the El Nino weather pattern — a naturally occurring climate phenomenon typically associated with increased heat worldwide, leading to drought in some parts of the world and heavy downpours elsewhere.
This climate disaster has also affected children and families who are yet to recover from the impacts of drought.
“The impact of the floods on children is disastrous and threatens their rights.
As a child rights organization, we recognize the importance of coordination of efforts to ensure that children’s lives and those of their families are restored to normalcy.
We are working round the clock to deliver lifesaving interventions such as cash transfers to affected households in Nairobi and Garissa Counties and are calling for support from private sector, development partners and well-wishers to scale up our response.
We also advise parents and caregivers to exercise caution as schools re-open,” Mohamed Abdiladif, Acting Country Director, Save the Children Kenya
Save the Children is calling on all stakeholders to strengthen coordination and act swiftly to help children and families affected by the crisis.
We are complementing government and other stakeholder efforts by providing cash transfers and distributing hygiene kits, household kits, and water treatment kits.
The organization is also providing education kits to support the back-to-school agenda.
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