• Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said sending students and staff to the affected schools would be putting their lives at risk.
• On Sunday, the National Parents Association proposed a change in opening dates for schools in affected areas.
Image: MoE/X
The government has postponed the scheduled schools reopening to Monday, May 6, 2024.
In a statement, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said they have received data that some schools have been adversely affected by the ongoing floods.
He said sending students and staff to the affected schools would be putting their lives at risk, hence the decision to postpone the reopening.
"The devastating effects of the rains in some of the schools are so severe that it will be imprudent to risk the lives of learners and staff before water-tight measures are put in place to ensure adequate safety of all affected school communities.
"Based on this assessment, the Ministry of Education has resolved to postpone the reopening of all primary and secondary schools by one week, to Monday, May 6, 2024," Machogu said.
Schools were scheduled to reopen on April 29 (Today).
The CS said his Ministry will work with relevant agencies and stakeholders to put in place measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the rains.
He added that they will also provide regular updates on all developments relating to the education sector.
On Sunday, the National Parents Association proposed a change in opening dates for schools in affected areas.
This came as the Meteorological department warned of heavier rains in the coming days with over 90 people reported dead so far and scores of others injured or missing.
According to the association Secretary General Eskimos Kobia, tens of schools across the country had been affected by the rains and flooding.
Kobia called on the government to audit the number of schools affected by the rains with a view of changing the opening dates for the safety of the students and teachers.
“We are keenly monitoring the ongoing rains and working with the government so that the lives of the students are safe as the schools reopen for the second term,” he said.
Speaking in Naivasha, Kobia said that in some areas adversely affected by the rains, affected victims had camped in neighbouring schools.
The secretary-general noted that with the rains, major roads mainly in the rural areas had been cut off further putting the lives of the students in danger.
“The issue is not only about reopening of schools but how safe the students will be when travelling from their home to the learning institutions,” he said.
Kobia added that an initial assessment done by the association had established that many of the affected families had lost school uniforms and learning materials.