Primary and secondary school candidates are likely to return to school next month in the latest proposal to restart the academic year.
The 1.9 million candidates will report for second term and sit their examinations in April next year.
If the plan is adopted, the 750,150 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates would sit their examinations between April 1-4.
The nearly 1.2 million Kenya Certicate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination candidates would take their tests between April 6 and 30.
The rest of the learners will report in the first week of January for a new academic year, according to the plan.
However, they will repeat classes under a shift system that will ensure school population does not exceed half at any given time.
Pre-school and lower grades will have their lessons twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Grade 4-6 pupils will have their lessons every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, while Standard Seven and Standard Eight pupils will attend school daily. For boarding schools, Grade 1-5 will not be allowed to stay in school.
Grade Six boarders will attend classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while Class Seven and Eight pupils will have daily lessons. For boarding secondary schools, learners will attend classes on alternate days.
Form One and Form Two students would attend lessons on Tuesday and Thursday, Form Three on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Form Four will attend lessons daily.
Schools closed in March over Covid-19. The proposal, by educationists working with the ministry of Education and other stakeholders, is expected to be ratified by the Education Response Committee chaired by Dr Sarah Ruto this week.
Yesterday, Education CS George Magoha said the committee will decide on when to open schools and the date for national examinations before Saturday.
The committee comprises representatives of secondary and primary school heads, private schools, international schools and parents’ association.
Others are Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Council of Churches of Kenya and Muslim Education Council. Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Ministry of Health, Kenya National Examination Council and Ministry of Education are listed as ex-officio members.
Prof Magoha said the recommendations will be tabled during a second meeting of the national education stakeholders scheduled for September 21.
The decisions reached here will be reviewed at an inter-ministerial meeting, chaired by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and Fred Matiang’i of Interior, before next Friday and a call made on when to resume school.
Yesterday, stakeholders endorsed the plan to reopen schools on the account that cases of coronavirus have dropped to below five per cent.
The verdict was made at a meeting attended by representatives of primary and secondary school heads, universities and middle level colleges, religious leaders, private school managers, parents’ associations, TSC, Ministry of Health and the examinations council.
“We have seen a decline in number of cases and even in hospitals, the Covid-19 units are not full. Community transmission has also gone down with positivity rate of slightly below per cent and we can now start to reconsider how much to relax restrictions,” said Dr Loice Ombajo, head of Infectious Disease Unit at Kenyatta National Hospital and a member of the education stakeholders’ committee.
“We looked at all the facts. We have come to consensus that it’s time to relook at the schools reopening dates,” said Magoha.
The CS said that social distancing remains a major challenge noting teaching will be conducted in shifts.
So next year ,the students who completed class 8 will join form one when and how will they proceed with form one learning if the repeated form ones are already continuing with the studies … in short form one will be double and others will be behind the syllabus
The whole thing is unrealistic, why are the stakeholders/ not talking about boarding schools? Even if you try and adhere to social distance by learning in shifts, say two days a week for some classes, what about the capacity of dorms, will they still maintain social distance in their dormitories? Where and what will some of the students doing in school while others are in class learning? Will we be forced to go by the day school option? Please give a comprehensive proposal.
??? Kenya is the place to be ??
1. The only county where there is no refunds ?
2. If Kenya was a building it would have been a tall building without stairs.?
3.if Kenya was a room: it would have been a room with no cleaners
What about university students
What’s the decision on Universities and Colleges?
Thanks ,good people,love this,now my dream to be jugde has got sparks upon it….HUUUUUURAY!?????????
Very unrealistic proposal,so what happens to the primary candidates once they clear their exams…Watangoja 2022 to enroll …Kids in boarding schools????
We have swallowed the bitter pill of staying with the kids @home,schools should just reopen in January,system stays as is….
Everyone should start afresh in january, so that we should not have confusions
Most students left their items in either their houses or in classrooms. Others may have kept all possessions in one room ie in the houses. When other students go to school earlier than others, we know what will happen. Whether you like it or not there are students who are professional thieves and will not care of others properties. It is better for all students to restart in January.
Really good ???
The form 3 could have done their exams in December you …coz anyway how are the kcpe candidate going to join form one coz not all schools have enough space…and the boarding schools how are people supposed to keep 1meter apart in the dormitory remember not all schools have large dormitories as you see in movies or in big schools
Exactly
Let allow the universities and collages to reopen plus the candidates as well plan to fully reopen the secondarys and primarys thanks CS
The government is stark mad if they think this is going to work, let’s just reopen in January and leave the propaganda behind ?️
I think this will create confusion…schools should officially reopen in january.everybody to start afresh.
i see reopening be scheduled on January for all students and pupils. primary to university to resume the first term which was supposed to be jan to March this year to avoid confusion please. My opinion.
The January Opening scheduled earlier is more realistic than this October..The logistics behind social distancing should be sorted out first..Let there be infruatructures to allow this .Our classes are already full if split then extra teachers are needed too…. Can’t we wait untill we r ,I suppose safe in January 2021.After all all classes are repeating,why not class 8 and forms 4
Let all pupils open next year stop
I proposed the reopening of the school.
How can the candidates sit for their national exam eventhough they have not done any type of test and examination. I think its unfair the previous candidates were able to do the 6 exams including the mock and premock. Kindly reply back to me. Thank you
To avoid confusion I think it’s better if we follow the normal routine which is reopening January. After all this kids have been at home for 7 months let’s use the 3 months left to ensure safety and avoid candidates being confused and tensed . Am sure by now all kids were prepared to repeat. Its much easier for kids than adopting new school system which will look complicated to them. Just an open suggestion
Opening of schools octomber is not doing no good. We are not in control with coronavirus. One thing am sure is that corona is real and we lost loved ones never to be seen again. People who got affected were just another citizen who took corona not real. Opening for student in octomber is opening roots for more infection not to metion in boarding school were is a chain of one student to 50 to 100 to 1000 student. Take control first and dont keep tension to this kids.
Very true