Moi Avenue primary school kids clean compound after school reopened on Monday/FELIX MAGARA
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – Schools across the country re-opened on Monday morning to a calendar that is expected to be interrupted by the March 4 General Election.
The school term will be disrupted halfway by about two weeks when students will be given a break to pave way for the election that uses many schools as polling centres.
The Moi Avenue Primary School was bustling with activity as teachers and students alike were eager to resume the learning process.
“We have opened well and started in the morning. About 90 percent of the children have reported and we believe that by tomorrow they will all have reported,” the principal Eunice Mlati told Capital FM News.
“Our school is being used as a polling station and all schools are going to go for their midterm for about a week. We are aware of that and we have made the necessary arrangements,” she said.
A few students pointed out their aspirations during the year and expressed hope that the school calendar will return to normal after the elections.
“I was in standard seven now I am going to class eight. We had been told to come to school on January 7 and that is what we did. I am looking forward to working hard so that I can be successful in my life,” stated one student.
“I am looking forward to my studies so that I can then be promoted again to the next class,” another one stated.
“Right now we are a few but in about a week’s time, we shall all be in school and we will be able to move forward as a school.”
The return to school marks the beginning of the 2013 school calendar, after a delayed national examination calendar last year caused by the September teachers strike.
“I want to go to Alliance Boys High School because that is the school of my choice. Every time I am improving and I hope to work hard so that I can be successful,” a student pointed out.
The delay in offering the standard eight and form four examinations has made this the first time that KCPE results are being released in January.
This programme will also cause a delay in form one selection and reporting to class.
The first school term will now have 14 weeks, starting January 7 and ending on April 12.
The second term will begin from May 6 to August 9, also lasting 14 weeks while the third term will have 11 weeks, starting from September 2 to November 15.
About The Author
