This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
May 21, 2020 - Nairobi, Kenya. The COVID-19 pandemic had infected 1,109 people and killed 50 others in Kenya by this date.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) have formed a parallel team to advise on schools reopening, amidst concerns over the government's preparedness to safeguard learners and teachers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team, led by Prof. Florentius Koech of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital-Eldoret, aims to develop a report on reopening schools and making educational institutions COVID-19 free zones.
KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion, UASU Secretary-General Dr. Constantine Opiyo, and KHRC Executive Director George Kegoro have termed the proposed move to recall students expected to write their national examinations as uninformed and rushed.
They cited France, which experienced a resurgence of the virus among teachers and learners after they rushed to reopen schools, and Britain, where teachers' unions have demonstrated it is difficult to enforce physical distancing.
The unions have vowed to snub a Ministerial task-force established to advise on the possibility of re-opening of basic education institutions, stating that it is a mere rubber stamp bound to mislead Kenyans.
They have instead teamed up to prepare a comprehensive, evidence-based, fact-driven parallel report with appropriate recommendations on the way forward on resuming learning and teaching in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.
