Schools break for a brief Christmas holiday this week, but some private institutions plan to remain open to recover lost time.
The break will last 10 days—between December 23 and January 3—as directed by the Education ministry.
Wilson Sossion, the Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary-general, said the break is necessary and expressed concern that keeping schools open means staff and learners could miss out on the much-needed rest away from the classroom.
“Students have had an incredibly tough time at school this year between isolating, missing out on learning, and then having to catch up. The weeklong break goes a long way in allowing students to have a little sense of normality before coming back in January,” Sossion told the Star on the phone.
But a teacher at one the schools that have resolved to remain open said on condition of anonymity that they agreed with parents to ignore the break.
“The children had missed school… and a majority of parents who responded to us said they would prefer their children to remain here during the Christmas break,” he told the Star.
He noted that the decision had been reached on voluntary terms and those wishing to break are free to do so. Parents of children who remain in school will also be allowed to visit them under strict Covid-19 protocols, the teacher added.
On Sunday, Kasanga Mutheu, the Kenya Private Schools Association chief executive, said schools must follow the guidelines laid down by the Education ministry. Kasanga, however, backed the need for learners to return home after the three-month session. Even so, they have to self-isolate to prevent the spread of the virus if they had contracted it.
Kenya Parents Association chairman, Nicholas Maiyo was of the view that the children “need a normal routine as lots of them are worried about the virus”.
He said the break is necessary to allow the learners back in January when they are rejuvenated for the recovery of the lost time. Maiyo cautioned that while at home, children must avoid unnecessary interaction to keep the virus at bay.