Education CS George Magoha has issued a fresh directive two days before students go back to school after a 9-month break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking on Saturday, January 2, the CS directed schools not to demand sanitisers from students when they resume from Monday, January 4.
Magoha explained that if students were allowed to come with sanitisers the schools would have large quantities which students may use for unintended purposes.
“This situation where some teachers are asking children to buy sanitisers in large quantities and take to schools shall not be allowed.
“Out of the 16 million children we have, maybe 50 of them are erratic in thinking. You do not want to give them a situation in which you bring so much liquid sanitisers to the school which they will use for other things,” stated Magoha, while inspecting Olympic Primary School in Nairobi,
“Sanitisers in schools should be in public spaces and if the school finds that the children are so disciplined, they can have private small containers of sanitisers, then we shall hold the teachers in those schools personally responsible for the safety of those children,” he added.
He further explained that the state had set aside funds that would be used to acquire sanitisers for schools across the country.
He also noted that no student will be admitted to school without a face mask explaining that the state had set aside funds to facilitate the provision of facemasks to the less fortunate.
“The masks are 100 per cent mandatory. Parents should buy masks and it will form part of the uniform. The type of masks we are recommending are cloth masks which have three layers.
“The masks costs between Ksh20 and Ksh50. For those children, who are about three million in our estimation in slums, masks will be provided,” he added.
Parents are already complaining of exorbitant market prices for the products demanded by various schools as part of school reopening requirements.
The second term is set to kick off on January 4 and close in March.
