COVID-19: Kenyan Schools Reopen January 2021
The Kenyan authorities say all Schools up to the university level in the country will fully resume for academic activities on January 4, 2021.
The decision to resume on-site learning is coming after almost a year-long shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Saturday.
Speaking at Nyayo National Stadium during celebrations marking Kenya’s Independence from British rule in 1963, the President also asked educational authorities to admit pregnant girls back to school.
Similarly, President Kenyatta asked parents and guardians to facilitate their children to resume learning when schools reopen.
“In line with the policy of the Government on universal and compulsory basic education for all children up to 18 years, all parents and guardians are required to facilitate their children to resume learning in January 2021,” he said
To ensure compliance with the directive and guarantee that no child will be left behind, President Kenyatta ordered the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, through chiefs and their assistants, to ensure that all children report back to school next month.
At the same time, the presidential directives instructed the Ministry of Education to re-issue and publicise the Education Policy on School Re-Entry to facilitate the re-admission of all learners who may not be able to report back due to pregnancy.
On containment of coronavirus in schools, President Kenyatta said the ministries of Education and Health have developed specific protocols and guidelines to facilitate the re-opening of all learning institutions.
While paying tribute to Kenya’s founding fathers for laying a solid foundation for socio-economic and political development, Kenyatta said the Presidential economic strategy, the Big 4 Agenda, builds on the intentions of the previous state administrations.
“Each generation of leaders in this process understood that Kenya was a work in progress. They built and improved on the platforms left by the previous leader. They had to make better what others had done.
“And this is the logic behind the Big 4. It is not a project, it is a process. It is a framework, which I have used to organise the delivery of Government services in order to improve on what previous Presidents did,” Kenyatta said.
The President said the Big 4 Agenda boosts aspirations that run through the country’s history, focusing on four intents of the liberation struggle and the aspirations of the nation’s founding fathers.
According to him, the Big 4 Agenda aims at improving manufacturing, agriculture, industry, and housing among other economic sectors in the East African nation. – With Agency reports
