The 10-member special task force created by Education CS George Magoha has advised that all students report to school on Monday October 26.
In the latest recommendations, students in pre-primary one and two, grades one to three, classes five to seven as well as those in form 1 to 3 are to report back to school from October 26 to November 2.
This is the same task force whose submission resulted in teachers being ordered back to school by the Education CS after being formed on May 12 to advise on the reopening of schools.
"With the new proposals, the education system in Kenya will normalise by end of December 2021," KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion stated.
The team is chaired by Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development (KICD) Chairperson Sarah Ruto.
Other members of the team are: Chairman, Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association Indimuli Kahi, Chairman, Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association Nicholas Gathemia, CEO, Kenya Private Schools Association Peter Ndoro and Chairman, Kenya Parents Association Nicholas Maiyo.
Also in the team are Augustine Muthigani of Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, Jane Mwangi of Kenya Association for Independent International Schools, National Council of Churches of Kenya's Nelson Makanda, Muslim Education Council's Sheikh Munawar Khan and Chairman, Kenya Special Schools Heads Association Peter Sitienei.
The Ministry of Education announced Monday, October 12, as the opening date for Grade 4, Class 8 and Form Four students.
The second term will take just 11 weeks, with schools closing on December 23. It will be a short holiday for the candidates and Grade Four learners as they are expected to resume classes on January 4, 2021.
In his press statement, CS Magoha also revealed the new school calendar.
"KCPE examinations to start on March 22, 2021 and end on March 24, 2021. KCSE exams are scheduled to start on March 25, 2021 and end on April 16, 2021," reads an excerpt from his statement.
On October 9, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) announced that 337,432 tutors had reported back to schools ahead of reopening on , October 12.
TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia went on to assure parents that strict Covid-19 containment measures had been put in place in readiness for the students return.
Some of the measures and protocols include mandatory use of face masks, monitoring of body temperature and observance of high levels of hygiene.
On October 7, two activists in Homa Bay filed a petition in court seeking to suspend the phased reopening of schools planned from Monday next week.
In their petition, Michael Kojo and Evance Oloo claimed many schools had not established necessary measures to ensure the spread of Covid-19 is minimised.
The case was filed before Homa Bay Senior Principal Magistrate Thomas Obutu on Wednesday who certified it as urgent.
A day later, High Court judge Kimani Ndung’u ordered that schools reopen only after adhering to all Covid-19 protocols.
CS Magoha is expected to officially announce the reporting dates for the rest of the classes in the coming week.
