Education CS George Magoha, on Wednesday, June 24, announced a number of protocols to be observed after the reopening of schools in September 2020.
Speaking during a tour of Kilifi County, the CS directed that the maximum number of learners in a classroom would be between 15 and 20.
This move was to help enact the directives by the Ministry of Health of a 1.5 metres social distance to help curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
He further announced that teachers would be expected to report to their schools two weeks before the reopening date and that each learner to be provided with two masks.
All schools would also be equipped with thermo guns to aid in determining the temperatures of all individuals who will be seeking access to learning institutions.
It is, however, not yet clear whether more teachers would be hired after the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) boss Wilson Sossion argued that the reopening plan would be unsuccessful if a deficit of 400,000 teachers was not covered for the new teacher-student ratio to be implemented.
KNUT Secretary-General Wilson Sossion was of the opinion that all teachers hired by school boards be absorbed by TSC to boost the numbers.
The union was also concerned with the safety of the teachers it represents urging the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to suspend its delocalisation policy arguing that for safety to prevail, teachers should be posted in schools next to their places of residence.
This, he explained, would limit movement, especially in rural areas, in which teachers use public transport means every weekend to spend time with their families.
Magoha had, in a previous address, confirmed that 24 million pieces of face masks would be delivered to schools across the country in August by Rivatex.
"Once we agree on the prototype, then we will get the pricing so that when schools open in September, face masks will be in the institutions by mid-August as per the presidential directive,” he stated at the time.
He also noted on Thursday, June 18, while inspecting Nakuru Girls High School, that the secondary and primary school final examinations would be taken in April 2021 if the scheduled September 2020 reopening was successful.
"KCSE and KCPE candidates to sit the exam in April 2021 if schools reopen in September. The earliest KCPE and KCSE exams can take place in February and the latest in April," he remarked.
