The tough talking Education CS professor Magoha who does not mince his words when it comes to the discipline of learners has called out on parents and guardians to sufficiently look after their children in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to the press on Friday 5th June, while receiving report from Covid-19 Education Response Committee, the CS registered his disappoint in the manner in which some parents have refused to provide ample care to their children.
“On a sad note ladies and gentlemen, this ministry has noted some parents, guardians and caregivers are not providing sufficient care of their children when at home,” said the CS.
He further noted that three of form one girls from slums that he secured a four-year scholarship programme have been impregnated in this short period of two months.
“For instance it is most heartbreaking that after I personally having gone to the slums to fish out some of the poor girls, having taken them to schools and the looking for scholarships for them, some of the scholarships are for fours years, three(3) of these form one girls are already pregnant during this short period of two months.
“Shame, a very big shame to parents. I would like to talk to them eyeball-to-eyeball. I think we should only produce those children that we are to take care of. If you have no time to look after your child, then perhaps you have no business creating a child; parents must change their mindset,” stated the CS.
On the issue of schools, the CS noted that the government is putting in place proper mitigation measures to keep the virus off the learning institutions.
“The government in consultation with development partners is putting in place mitigation measures in all schools to prevent Covid-19 from penetration to our learning institutions,” noted the CS.
Magoha further hinted at an extended closure of schools saying countries that rushed to reopen schools amid rising infections eventually closed them.
“You have seen all over the world, nobody has opened any school when the pandemic is still spiking. South Korea or Israel, everything was done correctly and people rushed to open (schools) and they have closed,” Magoha said.
“So it will be of no consequence if you asked me ‘are we opening yesterday’,” Magoha said while receiving the report at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.