NAIROBI, Kenya, May 12- The government has formed a 9 member COVID-19 Education Response Committee to advise on modalities of re-opening schools following anxiety from parents and learners across the country.
The committee unveiled on Tuesday by Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha will be chaired by Dr. Sarah Ruto, who is the chairperson Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development with other members being drawn from the expansive sector.
In a statement, Magoha said the committee is expected to advise him on 9 areas, including reviewing and reorganizing the school calendar as part of the post-COVID-19 recovery strategy.
“Although schools were expected to resume learning when the Second Term was scheduled to start on May 4th, 2020, the Government extended the reopening date for one month to given more room for the scale up of the national efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19. In the meantime, the Ministry has come up with measures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in the education sector, including mounting of online learning and the drafting of a master-plan to guide the response to COVID-19 in the education sector,” reads a section of statement.
The committee is expected to submit regular reports to the CS on the implementation progress of COVID-19 related programmes.
Kenya closed schools in mid-March after the confirmation of positive cases in the country.
The committee will also be required to, “identify institutions that may have been adversely affected by COVID-19 and advise on mitigation and recovery measures.”
The Committee’s Secretariat will be located at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.
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