This archive report was first published on 7 July 2020.
On July 7, 2020, Education Cabinet Secretary Professor George Magoha revealed plans to reopen basic institutions in January 2021, contingent on the flattening of the COVID-19 infection curve.
Magoha made the announcement after a consultative meeting with education stakeholders at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in Nairobi. He stated that this year's candidates preparing for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations would not sit for the same exams this year but would instead take them later in 2021.
‘The school calendar of this year will be considered lost due to COVID-19’, Professor Magoha said.
Initially, education stakeholders had proposed reopening schools in September for Class 8 and Form 4 learners, but this plan was shelved due to the rising trend of COVID-19 cases. Magoha stated that schools would reopen when daily COVID-19 cases consistently decreased for 14 days, with social and physical distancing being the most critical factor in ensuring learner safety.
Magoha also announced that learners in Grade 1 to 4, Standard 5 to 7, and Form 1, 2, and 3 would remain in the same classes in 2021. However, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVETs) and colleges would reopen in September, with strict adherence to anti-virus rules.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion emphasized the importance of learner and teacher safety, urging parents to ensure the safety of their children until schools reopened.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had directed Magoha to provide the nation with a school reopening calendar by July 8, 2020.
