• The CS said with the progressive reopening of schools, all protocols of MoH have been put in place.
• He assured pregnant students of government support throughout the process.
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
No child should be sent home on account of school fees, both in the private and public sector, CS George Magoha has said.
Magoha spoke on Monday when he coordinated the monitoring reopening of schools in Nairobi County at Olympic Primary School.
A similar exercise is expected to take place in all parts of the country under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Teachers Service Commission officials as schools reopen after a seven-month break due to the coronavirus.
"For boarding schools, may I plead with principals to ensure that no child is sent home on account of school fees," Magoha said.
The CS said with the progressive reopening of schools, all protocols of MoH have been put in place.
"The schools I have been to this morning has made me happy. Although physical distancing shall remain a challenge to us, it should not be a bottleneck to the resolve of reopening schools," he said.
The CS said schools must ensure mandatory use of face masks and monitoring of body temperatures of learners.
Magoha said schools should engage with students to build confidence in regards to Covid-19.
"Should there be an emergency, and a child needs help, every parent and every teacher should act as a guardian. We cannot wait until you figure out who the parent of the child is; this is our African culture," he said.
He assured pregnant students of government support throughout the process.
"For those children who are pregnant, I assure them that they have nothing to fear and should come back to school," he said.
"Teachers should be very empathic to them and give them assistance. and when the time comes they will be given time and giver birth."
The CS also said there will be a record of children who have pre-existing conditions so that the necessary attention can be given to them.
TSC last week said 337,432 tutors had reported back to schools ahead of reopening on Monday, October 12.
During the 12th address on the Covid-19 in the country at the Kenyatta International Convention Center on Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta urged a focus on ‘how’ schools would reopen and not ‘when’.
He charged CS Education to come with modalities on how the students can be kept safe in schools before announcing the reopening date.
“Learning institutions should only be reopened when we have and can sufficiently guarantee the safety of all our children. Let us not focus on when schools will reopen but on how they will reopen, ” Uhuru said.