Schools to remain closed until virus threat is crushed

Students carry their bags in Nairobi after schools were closed to curb the spread of the Coronavirus. [File, Standard]

Schools will be reopened only after medical experts give an assurance that Covid-19 is no longer a threat, the government has said. 

Speaking yesterday in Nairobi, Education Chief Administrative Secretary Zack Kinuthia asked the public to disregard reports doing rounds on social media that schools will reopen next month.

Mr Kinuthia stressed that the Covid-19 scourge has taken over the education calendar in the country.

He said even the decision to roll out Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations this year will depend on how the virus behaves.

“This is not the time to start asking when schools will be reopened, nor is it the time to ask whether fees that had been paid and not utilised will be refunded. It is not about whether we will manage to sit the final examinations for both primary and secondary schools. It is about how safe we are as a nation against this scourge and when it will be defeated,” he said.

Kinuthia noted that if a decision to open schools is made, the government shall communicate officially.

“Unless the government delegates the announcement of the decision to reopen schools to any other authority, all other announcements at all times shall remain null and avoid,” he said. Above all, he advised parents to ensure children are not idle. “Again, let us keep safe. If a family member develops signs of coronavirus, let them seek help," he said. [Mwangi Muiruri]