Protocols for Reopening Schools in September

Private schools want government funding

The Ministry of Education was tasked by President Uhuru to come up with protocols for reopening schools following their closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Education CS Magoha on Wednesday announced a number of measures that his Ministry has put in place to ensure that they comply with the directives of the Ministry of Health when schools reopen in September 2020.

According to the Health Ministry, these institutions are required to have clean running water and soap for handwashing or hand sanitising. These institutions will also be required to sanitise often-touched objects such as doorknobs, light switches and stair railings with disinfectant.

Speaking during a tour in Kitui county on Wednesday, the CS directed that the maximum number of learners per classroom will be between 15 and 20, he also noted that teachers will report to schools two weeks before the reopening. To protect the students and teachers from contracting the virus, the government announced that it has embarked on a mission to produce 24 million masks in September so that each child gets at least two of them.

“Once we agree on the prototype, then we will get the pricing so that when schools open in September, face masks will be in the institutions by mid-August as per the presidential directive,” CS Magoha had noted earlier.

These institutions will also be equipped with thermo guns to check temperatures for temperature checks. With the pandemic disrupting learning and distorting the school calendar, CS Magoha had previously informed the public that KCSE and KCPE candidates will be sitting for their national exams in April next year if schools resume in September.