Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha has called on parents and teachers to organize themselves in villages and estates to engage children academically following closure of schools for the rest of the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prof. Magoha said just because children would not go to school for the rest of the year, learning has not stopped saying teachers who could be found in each part of the country could continue teaching as long as social distancing was observed.
“It is important that we ensure that the children are engaged even if they are not in school,” said the CS who was on an inspection tour of Tambach Teachers Training College as the government prepares to open tertiary institutions in September.
The CS who was accompanied by the Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang called on all education collaborators to continue providing E-learning support to ensure that no child is disadvantaged.
He said the government would require millions to prepare schools before they re-opened saying schools which were destroyed by floods like Liter girls’ secondary school in Marakwet East among others would be reconstructed.
On refund of school fees for parents in public schools who had paid for second and third term in advance, the CS said if head teachers had used part of the money, then they would be required to explain to the Parents’ Association as they sought a way forward.
The CS said private school teachers who have continued teaching online deserved to be paid and appealed to parents to pay while calling on owners not to look for major profits so that they could pay their teachers.
The PS said they were liaising with the National Treasury to see which components of capitation could be released to schools during this period including funds for infrastructure.
By Alice Wanjiru
