Magoha speaks on reopening of schools, national exams

Education CS Prof George Magoha on Friday said he cannot say when schools will be reopened because there are many factors involved.

While receiving a report from the Education Response Committee on COVID-19, the CS emphasized that the life of every child matters and this is not the time to put pressure on the government on whether to administer exams or not.

“The goal of this report was not to open schools, the goal was to ensure that our children remain safe whenever we decide to open the schools.

“To us, the life of one child is very important; so rather than thinking so much about exams & learning, teach the child what you know yourself,” said Magoha.

The CS also said that the unpredictable nature of the Coronavirus means that schools might be reopened and the number of infections will go up.

To avoid such a scenario, Magoha said reopening schools next year is an option on the table but consultations are still ongoing.

“Would you rather allow 20,000 to die because you want to reopen earlier?... these are serious possibilities that Kenyans must deal with.

“If we are not able to manage the situation the way we want then we must be ready to stay with our children and wait for the right time…if it means they have to resume early next year, so be it,” he remarked.

Asked about private schools that have introduced extra charges due to new programmes, the CS told parents to negotiate with the schools to charge reasonable fees.

“It was your choice to take your children to the private schools let the parents negotiate with the teachers on the charges; otherwise the private school sector will collapse,” he said.