On Monday, primary and secondary schools were scheduled to reopen for the second semester despite difficulties processing the wages of recently hired Junior Secondary School (JSS) teachers.
Students all throughout the nation were making last-minute travel plans to report on Monday even though the Ministry of Education had ordered school administrators and county education directors to implement rigorous new regulations regarding students’ safety.
There will be a midterm break in June, and the Second Term will go for 14 weeks, ending on August 11.
Ezekiel Machogu, the cabinet secretary for education, stated that a circular had been issued by the ministry instructing schools to be particularly watchful over what students drink and to make sure they are thoroughly inspected.
“We have issued a circular asking everyone to be cautious with water and food that our students take, taking into consideration the schools that have had cases because of contaminated food and water,” Machogu said on Friday.
Speaking during the seventh Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI) graduation for Diploma in Education Leadership in Management, Machogu cautioned teachers against corporal punishment which he insisted remains banned.
He added that the food and water for the students will be properly inspected by experts to ensure it is fit for human consumption.
“Make sure that the food that students eat in school is properly inspected and that the water is checked every time. It should be inspected by experts to make sure it is fit for human consumption to avoid the kind of situation we got into in some of our schools,” the CS advised.
Machogu also cautioned teachers against meting out corporal punishment on students.
“Once any teacher indulges in that habit of corporal punishment to our students, that is actually a criminal activity, inform teachers to desist from that habit taking root in the country.”
