Well this is certainly a dramatic turn of events, I mean nobody saw this coming, not in Kenya at least. Most of us were already embracing the idea of schools opening next year and we were okay with that. LIttle did we know what the Kenyan government had in store for us.

In March this year, the government through President Uhuru Kenyatta closed all schools after the outbreak of Covid-19, the students, primary, secondary and university were then forced to  adapt to a new mode of learning called Digital/Virtual learning and some were simply home-schooled while others well ,they were just there waiting to see what is next. That’s why all this news about reopening comes as a major surprise to many. 

However, following pressure from Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and other school stakeholders, Education CS George Magoha was forced to reconsider reopening the schools and finally he seems to have arrived  at  a decision. He announced that the schools may possibly be reopening on the 19th October and students may be required to go back to school. Again I must add this came as a real blow to most people, 2021 seemed more realistic as opposed to October, however the decision is really up to the government and not the people.

A resolution was made by a committee of stakeholders from the education sector that has been holed up in a meeting to craft measures for the reopening of schools. Addressing the media at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in Nairobi on Monday, Teachers Service Commission (TSC) CEO Dr Nancy Macharia said the committee resolved to have teachers back in schools to speed up the reopening of schools.

“We have deliberated as a committee and we are therefore now asking our teachers to report back to schools on Monday September 28, 2020, to prepare for the eventual reopening of schools,” said Dr Macharia.

Upon going back to school the students will also be required to observe guidelines put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Since the announcement, there have been mixed reactions from the public with everyone giving a different opinion from the next. I am eager to hear your opinion on this though, do you think schools should reopen on 19th October? Let me know in the comments section down below.