Kenyan education ministry on Tuesday announced that select classes would resume soon. Schools are set to reopen on Monday, October 12, for Grade 4, Class 8 and Form 4 students, reported CGTN Africa.
The re-opening of schools will be done with strict adherence to COVID-19 containment protocols and guidelines, among them mandatory use of face masks, monitoring of body temperature, and observance of high levels of hygiene.
The Kenyan government had announced a number of measures in March to contain the global coronavirus pandemic. The measures included closing of schools, night curfew, the closure of restaurants and bars, and the cordoning off of main cities. These measures have been progressively relaxed as the number of coronavirus cases drop.
Education Minister George Magoha said the re-opening of schools will begin with three classes- students in Grade 4, those in their final year of primary school and those finishing high school. Key final primary school and high school exams will take place between mid-March and mid-April 2021.
“Although physical distancing will remain a challenge, it should not be used as a bottleneck to keep any child away from school,” Magoha said in a statement.
“Where there is no running water, schools will use sanitizers,” the statement added.
The Kenyan minister said all teachers should continue offering psychosocial and spiritual support to the students.
Last week, the government also reopened pubs and bars in the country but with limited working hours. The night-time curfew has been extended for a further 60 days, lasting from 11 pm to 4 am.
Kenya has reported a total of 39,586 cases and 743 deaths so far. For the last few weeks, the Kenyan health ministry has been recording between about 50 and 250 new infections every day, a drop from highs approaching 900 in late July. The positivity rate has declined from a high of 13 percent at the end of July to about 5 percent in recent weeks.
