Parents in Kilifi County have been directed to explain the whereabouts of 30 percent of school children who have not reported back to school after the schools reopened yesterday.
Kilifi County Covid-19 committee for education was informed in a meeting held Tuesday at the Kilifi town chief’s office compound by a representative of the County Director of education Mr. Edward Karani that by Tuesday, the figure still stood at 30 percent of those pupils in both primary and secondary schools who have not reported to schools.
This prompted area County Commissioner Kutswa Olaka who was chairing the meeting to order chiefs and their assistants to get names of those pupils who have not reported and get them back to school with the support of their parents.
He warned that by the end of the week, those parents who will have not availed their children back to school will be arrested to face the law insisting that the government wants all children back to school after the nine-month closure following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in March last year.
“This committee has been mandated to ensure all children who have been at home for nine months are back to their respective schools by this week. All grassroots national administrators must swing into action and ensure all children are taken back to school,” he said.
The committee was informed by the education department that those students and pupils who have reported back to school have reusable face masks but the challenge has been that they do not wear them as required according to the Ministry of Health guidelines.
It was also reported that water remains a big challenge in some remote schools of Ganze, Kaloleni and Magarini and the committee requested the County government to chip in by trucking water to the affected schools.
The committee resolved to involve the departments of public health and education to conduct Covid-19 health sensitization meetings in the area schools to make teachers and pupils aware of their requirements while in the institutions.
By Harrison Yeri
