This archive report was first published on 11 July 2020.
Education CS George Magoha has been touring technical colleges to assess their preparedness for reopening. On Friday, July 10, 2020, he visited Mosoriot Teachers Training College, where he found the lecture rooms and hostels in good shape but noted that the kitchen needed a complete overhaul.
Magoha emphasized the importance of adhering to Covid-19 measures as stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health. He pointed out that the kitchen required tiles to make cleaning easy and the walls needed repainting, while the kitchen sinks should be completely made up with additional hand washing water points and sanitizers for the cooks.
Magoha also suggested that the dining hall table should be large enough to accommodate four students at each meal time, with seats marked to indicate where one sits and sanitizers placed at the entry point. He further stated that the school fees for the first term had already been used up, and if parents had paid full fees for the year, the balance would be carried forward to the next term's fees.
However, if the Principals had utilized part of the funds in putting up measures to guard learners against Covid-19 in preparation for reopening, they should hold meetings with the Parents Teachers Associations to chart the way forward.
Magoha also urged teachers in both private and public schools to continue guiding their learners through online lessons in order to engage them. He stressed that they did not put a stop to learning, but rather halted face-to-face meetings to protect their learners from being infected by Covid-19.
Magoha was accompanied by Education PS Belio Kipsang and had already visited Tambach TTC. He would proceed to Kibabii, Eregi, and Ugenya on Saturday.
On her part, the college Principal Miriam Koech informed the team that the college had set up a response committee chaired by her Deputy in readiness for any eventuality. She also stated that they had set aside an isolation room and had a medical facility in the compound for immediate response.
Mosoriot Teachers Training College, established in 1960, sits on 23 acres of land and has 379 students, 41 teaching and 40 non-teaching staff. Most of the buildings are old and a few need refurbishments, but the college has set up a new tuition complex worth Sh74.3 million funded by MOE that is 90% complete.
