The Ministry of Education on Monday issued another late-night directive to all school heads and parents amid the flooding crisis experienced across the country.
In a letter directed to all school principals, Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang instructed them to retain all learners who had reported to schools on Monday.
They were also required to communicate the new reopening date to all parents forthwith.
County Directors of Education were informed to provide daily updates on actions taken to mitigate flooding in schools and ensure proper storage of food supplies to minimise losses.
The government has come under attack following the timing of notices dispatched by the Ministry. This is after Education CS Ezekiel Machogu postponed the reopening of schools to May 6, 2024, in a dispatch sent at 1:00 am.
In the letter, Machogu emphasised that the directive was necessitated by the flooding situation and to ensure the safety of the learners.
This created a state of confusion among parents as some had already booked travel for their children to report the following day.
Others who had already begun the journey were left stranded at various bus stops owing to the lack of transport.
School parents also questioned the indecisive nature of government officials, recalling that a few days prior PS Kipsang had insisted that schools would reopen despite the floods sweeping critical infrastructure in various institutions.
At the time, Kipsang noted that the Ministry had adequately prepared for the reopening of the second term.
He expressed confidence that a directive issued by President William Ruto to a multi-agency team to mitigate the challenges was in place.
"We are ready and are looking forward to our children going to school. As a ministry, we will be actively involved in the multitasking efforts alongside our colleagues to ensure the safety of our children as they resume their studies," Kipsang noted on April 25, 2024.
"We will anchor our plan on both formative and summative assessment so that we can give our children equal opportunities," he added.
