Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha on Wednesday said that only 15-20 pupils will be allowed in one classroom once schools reopen in September.
Speaking in Kitui county on Wednesday, the CS also said teachers will also report to schools two weeks before the reopening.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, the government is fine-tuning guidelines to make sure schools will be safe for the return of pupils/students in September which include the manufacturing of 24 million masks to ensure that each pupil/student gets two. Thermo guns will also be a necessity for all learning institutions.
“Every school will also have thermo guns for temperature checks,” he said.
Schools will also be required to ensure availability of clean running water and soap for hand washing or hand sanitizers.
The institutions will also be required to sanitise often-touched objects such as door knobs, light switches and stair railings with disinfectant.
According to the Ministry of Health’s projections, COVID-19 infections are expected to peak between August and September after which Coronavirus cases in the country will start falling making it possible to reopen learning institutions thereafter.
Last week, the government also published guidelines that will guide the reopening of universities in September. The guidelines that will guide the resumption of learning in universities are almost similar to those that will guide learning in primary and secondary schools.
In a circular, University Education & Research Principal Secretary Amb. Simon Nabukwesi also directed Vice Chancellors to facilitate students or lectuerers who will be unable to make it back to their institutions to learn or teach from home.
“Universities should be able to make sure that students and staff who might not be able to make it back are facilitated to continue teaching and learning remotely,” said Amb. Nabukwesi.
On June 6, President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the Ministry of Health and The Ministry of Education to engage the relevant stakeholders to set modalities that will guide the reopening of schools by the third term beginning September 1.
President Kenyatta also ordered the Ministry of Education to announce the new school calendar by mid-August.
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