President Uhuru Kenyatta on June 6 addressed the contentious issue regarding the resumption of schools.
Addressing the nation from State House, he stated that the Ministry of Education shall announce the new school calendar by the middle of August.
The head of state disclosed that gradual reopening of schools shall start on September 1, 2020.
The govt will now look at how learning shall resume and implement Covid-19 safety regulations.
The World Health Organisation in March 2020, released protocols on how countries should go about reopening schools.
“Sick students, teachers and other staff should not come to school, schools should enforce regular hand washing with safe water and soap, alcohol rub/hand sanitizer or chlorine solution and, at a minimum, daily disinfection and cleaning of school surfaces.
“Schools should provide water, sanitation and waste management facilities and follow environmental cleaning and decontamination procedures and promote social distancing,” reads the WHO guidelines.
In terms of social distancing WHO recommends, “Staggering the beginning and end of the school day, cancelling assemblies, sports games and other events that create crowded conditions.
“When possible, create space for children’s desks to be at least one metre apart as well as teach and model creating space and avoiding unnecessary touching,” the protocols read.
Institutions should plan ahead with local health authorities, school health staff and update emergency contact lists.
It is important that teachers ensure a procedure for separating sick students and staff from those who are well without creating stigma.
Schools should implement school absenteeism monitoring systems to track student and staff absence and compare against usual absenteeism patterns at the school.
Local health authorities should be informed about large increases in student and staff absenteeism due to respiratory illnesses.
