Ministry of Education will prolong the academic year for schools.
Due to the current floods, which have caused major harm and killed over 200 people, the government has decided to extend the second and third terms of the school year.
The overhaul of the school calendar will not impact the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education test, which is scheduled to start in November for Form Four applicants.
The educational calendar for this year stated that the reopening of basic education institutions, which includes nursery, primary, and secondary schools, was set for April 29 for the second term. The event was postponed till today, May 6, due to flooding.
But President William Ruto announced on Friday during his address to the nation that there would be an extended delay in the reopening of all schools.
Regarding online learning, which was introduced by the previous administration when schools were shuttered for over seven months due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the President remained silent.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Ezekiel Machogu, asserted that online learning is still viable.
The CS assured parents that everything was under control while pointing out that the number of learning devices was restricted. He expressed confidence that Form Fours were studying at home and underlined the necessity of youngsters continuing their education at home.
The academic calendar for this year states that the first term ran for 13 weeks, from January 8 to April 5. After a three-week break from April 6 to 28, students took a three-week midterm break from February 29 to March 3.
The longest of the three school periods, the second term, was supposed to start on April 29 and run for 14 weeks, ending on August 2. The dates of the students’ midterm vacation were set for June 20–23.
In addition, there would be a three-week break for students from August 5 to August 25. Due to the current flooding crisis, this term has suffered and the state has been compelled to postpone reopening until further notice.
August 26 is the start date of the third and shortest term, which will last for nine weeks. The conclusion date is set for October 25.
October 28–31 is when national exams like the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) and Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) are scheduled to take place.
Before pupils move on to junior secondary school, the KPSEA is given in grade 6.
Nevertheless, rather than assigning candidates to JSS, the results are utilized to track their progress in learning. Four topics were tested on the students: integrated science, mathematics, English, and Kiswahili.
There are four categories that the performance level falls into: exceeding, matching, approaching, and below expectations.
According to Mr. Machogu, the extension of the April holidays due to the threat of flooding that destroyed school buildings will result in changes to the school schedule.
Mr. Machogu clarified that no decision had been made to that effect and that the KCSE exams will not be postponed. He said he hoped the rain would stop before the end of the month and that when it did, schools will reopen right away.
However, the CS stated that his ministry will also prolong the term in order to make up for the time “lost” during the floods.
In an interview with the Nation, the CS said, “Such that when they were to close for three weeks in August, we will reduce the time and also part of it will be recovered in December.”
Nonetheless, the Machogu-led ministry asked school officials to allow students to safely return home in the wake of President Ruto’s announcement on Friday.
In a letter to all regional, county, and sub-county directors of education, Mr. Machogu said that the instruction was based on the recent severe rains and flooding that have been plaguing some areas of the nation. He gave them instructions to see to it that the aforementioned command was carried out in their respective jurisdictions.
Additionally, he gave the orders for all school management boards to meet and report on the state of their particular schools to the county education boards.
He declared that all relevant issues, including any harm caused by the extreme weather to school facilities, should be included in the reports, along with information on mitigating efforts. He further stated that the deadline for submitting these reports is May 8.
The rains have wreaked havoc on schools, submerging buildings and sanitary facilities, damaging infrastructure, and ruining instructional materials.
People who have been displaced by the flooding are currently being housed at certain schools.
In order to work with the National Government Constituency Development Fund to rebuild the damaged infrastructure, Mr. Machogu said that the reports are essential.
He instructed county education boards to convene immediately in order to assess the state of their individual districts and provide the Cabinet Secretary with comprehensive findings by May 10.
Using the given templates, he continued, the Regional Directors of Education will regularly deliver updates on the state of educational institutions in their respective regions.
In order to ensure that the facilities can be used for regular educational activities, the CS instructed all field education officers operating in locations where schools are lodging displaced people to get in touch with local National Government Administration Officers right away to arrange alternative housing for impacted individuals.
Ministry of Education will prolong the academic year for schools.
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