The university’s Academic Registrar, Bernard Waweru, stated in a notice published in local dailies Wednesday that learning will resume on August 21/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 19 – The University of Nairobi will close on August 2 to allow students participate in the General Election.
The university’s Academic Registrar, Bernard Waweru, stated in a notice published in local dailies Wednesday that learning will resume on August 21, at a time when the institution anticipates all election related activities, including the declaration of presidential results, will have been concluded.
While presiding over the launch of a report on smooth running of education during the electioneering period on May 19, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi told university managers that the ministry was exploring the possibility of closing all learning institutions for a minimum of two weeks to facilitate the electoral process.
During the meeting held at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, Matiangi urged universities to consider adjusting their semester dates appropriately.
“We need your advice on semester dates because we want to see if we can break for two weeks so that learners can go and vote and university staff will also have an opportunity to participate in the election,” he told the university and college heads.
Matiangi also indicated at the time that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology had agreed upon a framework with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) based on which school facilities shall be used for election purposes.
READ: CS Matiangi rules out campaigns in learning institutions
He noted that there will be a formal handover of the facilities to be used by the commission so that they are handed back once the elections are over in good condition.
He called upon the IEBC to expedite the compensation of schools whose facilities were damaged during primaries by ensuring the respective political parties meet the costs of repairs.
“We have schools in Migori and Nanyuki that were damaged during activities by political parties and we hope those schools will be repaired,” he said.
“It is very shameful to borrow things from our children and destroy them. Let us be responsible adults.”
READ: Education Ministry to pursue reforms as it seeks ultimate cure to schools unrest
Public schools constitute the highest number of the 40,883 polling stations gazetted by the electoral agency.
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