Govt To Re-Construct Damaged Schools — President Ruto
The government has set aside Sh1 billion for the countrywide reconstruction of flood-damaged schools.
During a visit to Mathare, President William Ruto emphasized that the government will ensure that all schools are restored so that education can resume smoothly once schools reopen.
“The government has set aside Sh1 billion so that we may reconstruct the schools and ensure that every child in Nairobi and other parts of the country goes back to school when we give a directive to reopen,” he went on to say.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has urged Kenyan parents to be patient with the government and wait for school to resume at a time that is safe for students.
Speaking at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Parish church in Kweluu, Mwingi West constituency, where he held a fundraiser, the MP stated that the lives of students were more important than the unwarranted urgency of reopening schools due to the continuous flooding.
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The legislator also committed to guarantee that the government receives adequate funding to address the present flood-related crisis.
Ndindi, who also chairs the Budget Committee in the National Assembly, stated that he will oversee the passage of all financial provisions to assist victims of the recent floods.
He urged leaders to stop immersing themselves in endless politics and instead focus on development once the election season is finished.
President William Ruto‘s administration has been under criticism following a flurry of contradicting information from the government and heated struggle among top officers for authority and control.
The latest revelation follows a series of worrisome signals from the Kenya Kwanza government regarding the opening of schools for the second term and the reaction to the ongoing devastating rains.
The current events occur at a time when Kenyans are dealing with the challenges of floods, economic struggles, and a doctor’s strike.
On Friday, the Ministry of Education issued a circular with rules for parents, education officials, and institutions ahead of the expected reopening of schools on Monday, May 6, 2024.
According to the circular issued by Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, parents and school management would be accountable for the safety of students when schools reopen for the second term.
The CS had postponed the second term’s start date by a week, citing security concerns caused by torrential rains and flooding across the country.
Schools were scheduled to start for the second term on April 29, but this was postponed to May 6 and then put on hold until further notice due to the continued severe rains, which have resulted in devastating floods that have killed at least 228 people.
However, Mr Machogu stated that the ministry had implemented safeguards to secure the safety of students and workers in basic education facilities.
He directed field education officers working in areas where schools housed displaced people to coordinate with local national government administration officers to quickly identify alternative housing for displaced people and ensure that facilities were available for normal learning activities.
According to Mr. Machogu, the Regional Directors of Education are responsible for providing regular updates on the state of learning institutions within their respective jurisdictions.
The Regional Directors of Education are to convey these updates using a template that covers the safe reopening of schools and involves capturing data on absent learners.
Contrary to this directive, President Ruto, during his State of the Nation speech, countermanded his minister’s communication. He instructed the Ministry of Education to defer indefinitely the reopening of all schools nationwide for the second term.
Interestingly, reports indicate that the President led a Cabinet meeting the day before the circular was issued, which approved the reopening of schools on May 6.
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More confusion was caused earlier in the week when CS Machogu issued a statement on Sunday midnight announcing the postponing of school resumption for one week.
More rains are forecast after weeks of devastating flooding – Met.
The communication, which caught many parents off guard because it came after some had released their children to school, came a few days after Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang stated that the second term will resume as planned.
The PS had told school managers not to send home students who had reported to school prior to his boss’s circular.
Govt To Re-Construct Damaged Schools — President Ruto
