Teachers have been urged to integrate messages of prevention of Covid-19 protocols as guided by the Ministry of health during their daily lesson presentations to learners to enable them fully comply.
This advice was given by Prof. Collette Suda, Principal Secretary (PS) for Gender during a 2-day tour in Nyamira County. She was accompanied by her counterparts Hellen Mochache (Health) and Dr. Kevit Desai (East African Community).
“Covid- 19 is here with us to stay and we cannot predict when it shall be contained, the reason why we are advising teachers to continually remind their learners on the importance of adhering to health protocols while doing their lesson presentations in order to keep themselves and their students safe,” Prof. Suda said.
“The learners are still grappling with the new normal practices of wearing masks, social distancing and regular sanitizing of hands and before they can fully make it a daily practice, they must be given constant reminders by teachers who spend more time with them while in school,” she stressed.
On her part, Mochache commended the strides teachers have made in ensuring that the learners are safe in schools by providing sufficient water points where learners and those within the school compound can wash hands and innovations made in creating more space for learners to achieve social distancing while in school.
“I have admired and highly commend the way school managers are coping with structural constraints by coming up with various innovations to supplement the limited structures which are unable to contain the huge student population in their institutions in regard to social distancing like converting laboratories, dining halls and tree shades in the school compound into extra classrooms and even pitching tents where learners can study comfortably while maintaining recommended social distance,” she said.
“I still want to underscore the importance of being on high alert of any signs or symptoms of Covid-19 on the learners because they are very vulnerable and even a single infection in an institution is likely to be very disastrous and may even compel closure of the affected institutions; a scenario we want to avoid,” she emphasized.
Dr. Kevit Desai observed that Coronavirus has had terrifying and dilapidating global effects economically, psychologically and even socially; “the reason why everybody needs to ensure that all our learners are back to school and safe while there.”
Speaking during the occasion, Nyamira County Commissioner, Amos Mariba assured that they will ensure all learners who have not reported back to school are mopped up and forced to resume learning as directed by the President.
Some of the schools visited by the three PSs during their two-day tour in Nyamira County included Matongo Boys Secondary, Riomego Boarding primary, Sironga Girls High school, Eronge Adventist primary, Metamaywa DEB primary and Dorcas Sigara memorial academy.
By Deborah Bochere
