NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 26 – Kenyan schools will remain closed for the next one month, following a directive by the government in measures aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha who made the announcement Sunday, however, said national examinations for primary and secondary schools remain on schedule.
Magoha said the extension will begin on May 4th, the day students were supposed to return to school from the April Holidays that started much earlier due to coronavirus pandemic that has paralysed most operations in the country.
“I want to emphasis that for the past four weeks, students have been on normal vocation, an activity that ends on the fourth of May. During the intervening period, there will be many interventions that will depend on how the government controls this disease,” Magoha said during a media briefing at the Ministry of Health Sunday.
Kenya had registered 355 positive cases and 106 recoveries from COVID-19 by April 26, with 14 deaths.
At the same time, Magoha said the government has not postponed Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations despite the closure of schools.
The CS said the government has put plans in place to ensure every child covers everything that needs to be covered before sitting for the final exams.
On March 15, President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered for the closure of all schools in the country after Kenya reported her first COVID-19 case.
Most schools, mainly in urban areas have embraced online studies, with questions raised on disadvantaged learners in rural parts of the country which has no electricity or proper internet.
The cost or accessibility of laptops and other related gadgets as well as data is another main concern even to those in urban centres, with reports that some schools are now charging parents for online studies.
