Presdent Uhuru Kenyatta also talks about schools’ re-opening and the KCSE and KCSE dates

Due to the covid-19 outbreak, the president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta went on to announce that all learning institutions should be closed to curb the spread of the deadly disease. The closure of schools has brought about a lot of online romours about the Knec examination dates.

Magoha the CS of education last week said that there should be no postponement of the examination this however did not please people. Majority teachers, parents and students still felt the urge of postponing the papers.

In a press Conference Uhuru Kenyatta has insisted that the examination should do on as planned. He also says that he is in discussion with the heads of the ministry of education to  get a solution on new strategies that should be placed into position to enhance continuity of learning for this year’s KCPE and KCSE examinations.

He says, Exams are still on as planned, but we still have to know how we shall approach this and we shall elaborate more when that time comes said the Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha at KNEC Offices in Nairobi on December 18, 2019.

Here is what the President said;

“We are still analysing the best way to assist our students. We will release a strategy in which our students will start going back to schools and the measures we shall implement because they (candidates) are the ones we are most concerned about,” Kenyatta proclaimed.

He went on to affirm that the government would also set up a way to ensure the candidates recover the time they lost while at home.

On Monday, April 20, Magoha’s announcement displeased the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) boss Wilson Sossion after which the CS indicated that he was still optimistic that everything would still run on schedule, given that a majority of students were still studying at home.

“We have done an assessment of e-learning even with respect to all across the world and it cannot work in third-world countries. Let us take for example the ordinary households in Kenya, both the middle class and low-class, do they have radios or TVs?

“Even if they have them, how can you ensure the connectivity of the 320,000 teachers with their learners? How can we ensure effective learning control and interaction across the network?” he posed.

Other than the resumption of school, another issue on the table would be the payment of fees. Different bodies aligned with the education sector asked for discussions to be held to deliberate on the issue as parents urged schools to reimburse some of the money paid before the outbreak of the disease.

The National Parents Association Vice-Chairperson Sarah Kithinji argued that schools closed almost a month earlier and some reprieve for parents was necessary.

“We have lost a month in which we had paid for everything including tuition. We have not engaged the Ministry of Education but I hope that when we do, they will agree to give a reprieve equivalent to the time that we lost,” Kithinji stated

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