Technical colleges have been asked to prepare for a partial resumption of studies in September with final year students given first priority due to exams. This is according to Profesor Magoha who also noted that Primary and Secondary schools may not resume studies in September as announced earlier due to the increase of coronavirus infections in Kenya. This hints that school reopening may be pushed to January when it is expected that the rate of coronavirus spread will slow down. School principals have already rejected the idea of reopening schools in September citing financial constraints that may affect their ability to set up coronavirus prevention protocols as the Government has not provided any funds for such.
If non-candidates reopen schools in January it is highly expected that they will all repeat for a full academic year as their two weeks in studies this year won't justify their progress to the next grade. With over 130,000 teachers shortage and the high number of unpaid Board of Management teachers, it is most likely that there will be a lot of challenges when schools reopen. Reliable sources at Jogoo House indicate that KCPE and KCSE candidates may resume studies between August to Sept for preparation of exams, which according to Prof Magoha may be done in April or May next year. Profesor Magoha has maintained that he's not ready to risk the lives of children.
All universities are expected to comply with the Ministry of Health rules and precautions on Covid-19 which requires every person within the institution's premises to wear face masks and maintain social distancing. The universities and colleges are also expected to use sanitiser booths, maintain good hygiene, and invite officials from the Ministry of Health to inspect their preparedness before they resume studies. The face masks and sanitizers according to the meeting between CS Magoha and the TVET officials yesterday, will be provided by the colleges and universities as indicated by Dr Julius Jwan, the TVET principal secretary.
Profesor Magoha said that 8.8 bilion will be provided by World Bank to develop schools during this period insisting that learning institutions used asquarantine facicities must fumigated and will no longer admit new covid-19 victims.
