No child will be sent home for lacking school fees – Prof Magoha

Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has on Monday said that no child shall be sent home due to lack of school fees.

Magoha, who was speaking at the Olympic Primary School told all principals to be merciful to grade four, class eight and form four parents.

“No child should be sent home on account of school fees, both in the private and public sector,” the Education CS said.

Prof Magoha further emphasized that all children will start from where they left despite some private schools conducting online classes when schools had temporarily closed.

“If you send a child home because they did not engage in online classes, that is criminal and we shall come for you. The fact that it’s a private school does not protect you. And I am going to ask The National Chair Kenya Private Schools Association, Mutheu Kasanga, to ensure that as we open, nobody takes advantage of the children. Let us be empathetic to the parents, and no parent should be ashamed to bring their children to school because that is where we want them,” the Education CS added.

In terms of the safety measures, Prof Magoha said that it will be mandatory for students and teachers to wear face masks and have their body temperatures taken. The education boss admitted that though social distancing will be difficult, it cannot bar students from resuming their learning.

“I urge principals and teachers to compile a list of learners with pre-existing conditions such as asthma so that the necessary attention can be given to them. Should there be an emergency, and a child needs help, every parent and every teacher should act as a guardian. We cannot wait until you figure out who the parent of the child is; this is our African culture,” the Education CS said.

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Prof Magoha also urged teachers to be empathetic to students who are pregnant and allow them to give birth when their time comes.

“For those children who are pregnant, I assure them that they have nothing to fear and they should come back to school. Teachers should be very empathic to them and assist them. When the time is right, they should be allowed to go and give birth and after weaning they shall come back and continue with learning,” the education boss said.

Grade four, class eight and form four students resumed their learning today for their second term, after a six-month break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Class eight students will sit for their national exams from March 22nd to 24th, 2021. The form four students on the other hand will start their national exams on March 25th and finish on April 16th, 2021.