Learners who are in school must continue being in school despite the virus ravaging some schools, Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion has said.
His claims come hours after 52 students tested positive in Salvation Army Kolanya Boys High School. 100 tests were done at the school, out of which 60 samples tested positive.
Of the 60, 52 are students, six are teachers and two are support staff.
Speaking during an interview with Citizen on Wednesday, Sossion said the government needs to prepare adequately for learners who are still at home.
“Parents should not be worried. Learners who are in school cannot go home even medically it would be a mistake,” he said.
Since the schools were reopened last month, students and teachers have been reported to have contracted the disease putting fears in the hearts of parents.
“If you say that students at Kolanya should go back home, you will be enhancing the spread of the disease at the community level,” Sossion said.
Sossion said the government must prepare convincingly this time round to protect both learners and teachers.
“We have been guided by WHO. Avail PPEs to secure learners and everyone. The spike of virus is because of relation of this protocols,” he said.
He said that when Kenya reopened schools and allowed only a small group of students this was for schools to test the infrastructure of virus preventive measures.
“These are the lessons and experiences we have to learn. This was envisaged and we had been guided by the experts that it would occur. What we should be talking about now is how to approach the resumption of schools in the face of the furiously surging Covid-19,” he said.
Schools could in the next three weeks reopen for in-person teaching for three other classes in primary and secondary institutions.
The Star has learnt that education stakeholders seem to have reached an agreement to reopen schools for the second phase.
In the proposal, in-person learning for Grade 3, Standard 7 and Form 3 learners will resume. The three classes account for about three million learners. The proposal is to be presented to the President.
If adopted, it will mean those in Grade 1-2, Standard 5-6, and Form 1-2 and pre-primary will remain at home.
A school of thought is of the idea that any further reopening is staggered twice in a period of just under a month.
CS George Magoha said on Monday the ministry will on Wednesday engage the President over a plan to fully reopen schools.