It is official, primary and secondary schools will reopen in January 2021 and not in September as earlier anticipated.
Announcing the new school calendar on Tuesday, Education CS George Magoha said in view of the disturbing trend of COVID-19 cases rising steadily, the Government had no choice but shelve the initial proposal to re-open schools in September for class 8 and Form 4 learners.
National examinations slated for this year have subsequently been pushed to next year.
“There will be no KCPE and KCSE for the year 2020. The earlier they can sit the exams is late 2021,” said the Cabinet Secretary.
As a result, all students and pupils will have no choice but to repeat their current classes.
“All learners in grade 1-4 Standard 5 to 7 and Form 1 to 3 to remain in the current classes in 2021” added the CS.
Magoha, however, stated that the new school calendar is not cast on stone and can be reviewed if the COVID-19 curve flattens.
“In consultation with the Ministry of Health, we have agreed schools to reopen when daily COVID-19 cases reduce consistently for 14 days. Social and physical distancing is the most critical factor in ensuring the safety of learners”.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) will however resume this year respectively, but under strict guidelines.
There is no universal date for re-opening of universities but those that act quickly to put in place measures to comply with the Ministry of Health (MoH) guidelines on the management of Covid-19 will be allowed to re-open immediately.
Universities to consider phased reopening but must comply with Covid-19 regulations or risk closure. All decisions made by the stakeholders may change if the Covid-19 situation changes as advised by the Ministry of Health #SchoolReopening #CoronaVirusUpdate ^MK pic.twitter.com/8FRXmxXjTu
— KBC Channel1 News (@KBCChannel1) July 7, 2020
