Planned school reopening has been postponed for a second time in two weeks, this time indefinitely over widespread flooding crisis amid ongoing heavy rains.
While addressing the nation at the State House on Friday, Ruto ordered all schools to remain closed until further notice.
Effectively, school going children will have to wait longer to resume studies.
Through a televised address to the nation this afternoon, president Ruto said the school re-opening date be postponed “until further notice”, noting that the situation is likely to escalate in the coming days.
“The Ministry of Education is directed to postpone the reopening of all schools in the country for the second time until further notice.” He said.
Schools were initially set for re-opening on April 29, 2024, but the date was later pushed to May 6, 2024, due to disruptions from the heavy rains.
“No corner of our country has been spared from this havoc. The re-opening date of our schools after the April holidays, which was scheduled for Monday this week, had to be varied. Transportation has become challenging in many parts of the country due to flooded and damaged roads and bridges and the threat of raging rivers and overflowing dams in downstream regions.” The president noted.
Additionally, Ruto urged MPs to restructure the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) allocations with a focus on rebuilding school infrastructure damaged by floods.
“Meteorological reports paint a dire picture that the rains will persist for the rest of this month and possibly after. Kenya will also face its first cyclone. This cyclone will hit any time, and it’s predicted to cause torrential rain, strong winds, and dangerous waves that may affect marine activities and settlement along the Kenyan Coast.” He said.
The initial school reopening date had been pushed from Monday, April 29 to Monday, May 6 this year, with Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu attributing the changes to the ongoing heavy rains and floods.
CS Machogu pointed out that the ministry had received data that some schools were adversely affected by flash floods and warned that sending students and staff to the affected institutions was akin to putting their lives at risk.
“The devastating effects of the rains in some of the schools are so severe that it will be imprudent to risk the lives of learners and staff before water-tight measures are put in place to ensure adequate safety for all affected school communities.” He added.
President Ruto’s postponement of the resumption of studies throws CS Machogu and his juniors back to the drawing board, especially hours after the latter issued guidelines to guide the reopening of schools on Monday, May 6.
Machogu had directed parents to ensure their children safely report to school on time, field education officers at schools hosting displaced persons to identify alternative accommodations for them and ensure the facilities are available for normal learning activities.
Boards of Management (BOMs), headteachers, and principals were directed not to host students and staff in life-threatening buildings. They were also asked to submit status reports to the ministry by May 8, 2024.
County Education Boards (CEBs) were also ordered to forward detailed assessment reports on school reopening to the ministry by May 10, 2024.
