By Spy Uganda Correspondent
The High Court of Kenya has today temporarily suspended the opening of schools and ordered Education ministry to convene stakeholders meeting that includes petitioners.
The meeting is set to agree on conditions set for reopening of schools after the Ministry of Education announced that candidates in primary and secondary schools are scheduled to resume classes on Monday, October 12.
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The petition was filed in High Court by a parent, Joseph Enock Aura, who also blocked the implementation of the Community Based Learning.
Among the respondents listed include Kenya Private Schools Association, Kenya Parents Association, Kenya Secondary School Heads Association, Kenya Primary School Heads Association and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers among others.
Education Ministry has been ordered by the High Court to file their responses together with their respective submissions within the next three working days from Wednesday.
Parents, students and the public have questioned why Grade Four pupils should go back to school while other older pupils, who are capable of adhering to Health Ministry guidelines, stay at home.
In a shocking move that caught parents and candidates off guard, Ministry of Education on Monday directed all Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education candidates to report back to school next week.
Also to return to school will be pupils in Grade Four, the pioneer class of the new education curriculum that was rolled out by the government in 2018.
The Ministry defended the move, saying it was in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive and followed broad-based education stakeholders consultations.
This move did not sit well with parents including some politicians as well.
Elgeyo Market Senator Kipchumba Murkomen was the first to register his displeasure saying that the directive was outrageous.
“I have a child in class 6 and another in Grade Four. What’s the logic of taking the Grade Four chap to school on Monday while the older one is at home?” he posed.
“Didn’t the President say we shall first establish “how” and together agree “when”? When did the together meeting take place? Did I miss a memo?”
But Murkomen is just one of the many Kenyans questioning why the young pupils are going to school this year.
In the phased reopening for Grade Four, Class 8 and Form Four learners, six other classes in primary school, as well as three in secondary, will have to wait a bit longer before knowing when they will resume face-to-face learning.
