To have school or not, head teachers' dilemma

Schools located along routes that will be closed during US President Barack Obama’s visit were yesterday in difficulty on whether to ask pupils to stay at home today to avoid anticipated movement hitches.

School heads made frantic efforts to get direction from Ministry of Education officials on how best to handle the impending crisis.

Although President Obama is not expected in the country until later in the evening, official communication indicates that major roads will be closed from 2pm till later in the night.

The affected roads include Mombasa Road, from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Uhuru Highway, Waiyaki Way, Limuru Road and Thika Road.

NO FEEDBACK

It is this piece of information that had head teachers reaching out to the Education Ministry for guidance but as those who spoke to The Standard reported, they were yet to receive any feedback even as the clock ticked towards D-day.

“We are afraid of telling our students to report to school as usual and then they end up walking for kilometres back to their homes in the evening.

Our concern is based on doing what is best for our children’s security,” a school deputy principal, who requested anonymity, said.

But even without this direction from the ministry, some schools such as Makini have already taken a decisive step and informed parents to keep their children at home.

“Please note there will be no school on Friday July 24, 2015 due to anticipated traffic logistics following the US President’s visit. We resume classes on Monday July 27, 2015 at the usual time,” read the notice to parents.