This archive report was first published on 7 July 2020.
On July 7, 2020, Kenya's Education Ministry announced that primary and secondary schools would remain closed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha made the announcement, citing the increasing number of COVID-19 infections as the reason for the delay.
Magoha stated that stakeholders had shelved plans to reopen schools in September for Standard Eight and Form Four candidate classes, opting instead to reopen all basic education learning institutions in January 2021.
He explained that this decision was based on the assumption that the infection curve would have flattened by December 2020.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had ordered the Ministry of Education to announce the date of resumption of the 2020 academic year for basic and tertiary education just a day prior to Magoha's announcement.
As a result of the delayed reopening, all learners from grade one to four, standard five to seven, and form one to three will remain in their current classes in 2021.
The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations will not take place this year, with the 2020 standard eight and form four cohorts scheduled to sit for their examinations later in 2021.
However, teacher training colleges and TVETs will be allowed to reopen in September, subject to adherence to COVID-19 protocols.
