Education Cabinet Secretary, George Magoha, has once again said schools will not be reopening any time soon. The CS says it is not safer to reopen learning institutions as cases of new covid-19 infections in the country are on the rise.
Magoha castigated those pushing for immediate reopening of learning institutions saying such individuals are under-estimating the effects of the killer pandemic, covid-19.
“Am feeling the heat because people on the fence are telling me to open schools. But, schools will not be reopened yet,” Said CS Magoha in Kisumu, today, during the daily briefings on the status of covid-19 pandemic in the country.
The CS said the statements he makes are not roadside policies but, thorough consultations are made with all stakeholders (including parents) before they are released to the public.
He reiterated that schools will remain closed till January, 2021; but, the decision may be rescinded if the rate of infections drop.
“The issue of reopening schools in January 2021 is still on,” insisted Magoha
He said there is a false narrative that schools have been closed indefinitely.
The CS who accompanied his Health Ministry’s counter part, Mutahi Kagwe, blamed the youths for spreading the disease to their parents.
“Millenials think the disease is a joke but some have infected their family members and killed their parents, so don’t tell me to open schools because the young people are going to be the super-spreaders of the virus.,” Magoha added.
“How many of you want to kill your parents?… Please do not tell me to reopen schools because the children are going to be super spreaders,” posed an utterly annoyed Magoha.
He quoted CS Mutahi Kagwe that ‘if we continue treating this disease normally, it will treat us abnormally’.
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Last month, the CS pushed the reopening of all universities and colleges (that had earlier been slated to reopen in September) to January next year.
He said he is not the cause of covid-19 but is a healthy problem adding that the children are safer at home instead of dying at school.
As it stands, reopening of schools is not going to happen any time soon.
“Until we are able to see that covid-19 is coming down, let us teach our children at community level; at no charge,” the CS concluded.
The Teachers Service Commission, TSC, is expected to give guidelines on how teachers are going to engage learners within their communities. The exercise that has already been backed by the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) is expected to kick off in September.
Legislators have been prodding CS Magoha to consider a phased reopening of learning institutions as from next month.
