All eyes are now set on tomorrow’s meeting that will bring together stakeholders in the education sector, to chart the way forward as far as reopening of schools is concerned.
Education CS professor Magoha has convened the meeting at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development(KICD) tomorrow on September 14 2020.
“Following the presidential directive on convening of the National Consultative Conference to chart Kenya’s post COVID-19 future, the stakeholders in education sector need to deliberate and give their input on this critical issue,” said CS Magoha.
The meeting has been convened against the backdrop of divided opinion on how reopening of schools should be handled.
Part of the discussions in this highly anticipated meeting will be whether the government should reopen colleges and schools or not.
However, sources within the Ministry of education have revealed that whether schools reopen in January 2021 or earlier than that, the biggest headache will be maintaining social distance.
Currently plans are underway to distribute desks, lockers and chairs to 30 primary and secondary schools in each sub-county. Each of the selected primary schools will receive 70 desks, while secondary schools will get 50 lockers and chairs.
The move has attracted both support and criticism in equal measures. Some people have lauded the government while others feel desks are not priority at this point in time.
Kenya Secondary School Heads Associations chairman Kahi Indimuli is one of the persons who felt that creating more space in schools was more urgent than desks.
“The few schools that do not have desks can be mapped to be allocated desks. Our major issue is space. Schools that do not need desks can be facilitated to expand spaces,” said Mr Indimuli.