Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu on Tuesday, May 2, issued strict directives to head teachers as schools prepare for reopening on May 8.
Machogu urged head teachers to ensure meals served to students are safe for consumption, weeks after cases of suspected food poisoning were reported in some schools.
The CS also called for regular inspection of water used for drinking and cooking in all institutions across the country.
"School management and teachers must ensure the safety of meals and drinking water served to students to avoid possible harm to learners," Mochogu stated.
Machogu made the remarks during Kenya Education Management Institute’s (KEMI) 7th graduation ceremony at Jamhuri High School grounds in Nairobi.
At the same time, the CS asked teachers to desist from meting out corporal punishment to students, warning that the practice was criminal.
"Once a teacher gets involved in corporal punishment, he or she will be handled as a criminal and will be charged in a court of law," Machogu warned.
He also disclosed that the Government had disbursed Ksh9.6 billion to Junior Secondary Schools, adding that school heads should use the disbursements prudently.
He at the same time explained that the government was working on measures to streamline the curriculum by reducing the number of subjects being taught in schools.
While responding to concerns about challenges facing junior secondary schools, the CS confirmed that the government was partnering with the World Bank to equip science laboratories in the schools.
His directives came a month after Mukumu Girls and Butere Boys High Schools in Kakamega county were closed after a disease outbreak. At Sacred Heart Mukumu, the disease led to the deaths of 3 students and a teacher, sparking widespread uproar.
Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) on April 5 revealed that students at Mukumu Girls' High School suffered from a double infection of gastroenteritis and amoeba.
Most students complained of severe stomach upsets and abdominal discomfort.
Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha revealed that scores of students contracted the infection and had to be admitted to various health facilities within Kakamega.
Learners are set to go back to school for second term, which runs up to August 11.
