- Kobia called on the government to audit the number of schools affected by the rains.
- In Naivasha, families living near Lake Naivasha and River Malewa have been asked to relocate to higher ground.
Image: George Murage
The National Parents Association has warned that the ongoing rains will adversely affect learning as schools reopen this week.
The association has proposed a change in opening dates for schools in affected areas even as the rains continued to leave a trail of deaths, despair and destruction.
This came as the Meteorological department warned of heavier rains in the coming days with over 50 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 on Sunday, 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.
He added that in affected schools, walls and classrooms had caved in making the institutions uninhabitable while in some cases learning materials had been washed away.
“The education sector has been adversely affected by the floods and we welcome the move by the government to form a multi-agency team to assist those displaced,” he said.
In Naivasha, families living near Lake Naivasha and River Malewa have been asked to relocate to higher grounds as water levels rose sharply in the last two weeks.
Friends of Lake Naivasha chairman Francis Muthui said all rivers including the seasonal ones were flowing into the lake due to heavy rains in the catchment areas.
“We are calling on residents of Kihoto who live next to Lake Naivasha and those near rivers Malewa and Karati to start relocating before it’s too late,” he said.