Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has warned school heads against forcing learners to attend early morning and late evening classes.
Machogu said going forward the students will not report to school before the break of dawn. Similarly, school heads will be required to release students from class before dusk.
He insisted that teachers should cover schoolwork between 8:00 am and 3:45 pm and give students adequate time to rest.
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‘‘As we resume our normal education calendar, it is clearly stipulated in the curriculum that learning begins at 8 am and ends at 3.45 pm. We are subjecting our learners to unnecessary struggles by waking them at 4 am to attend lessons in schools by 6 am,’’ Machogu said.
‘’You will meet students walking on the streets very early in the morning heading to school for remedial lessons. I have seen some buses ferrying students at 10 pm as they head back home. We will not allow that,” he added.
Machogu urged school managements to stick to the guidelines from the ministry to the letter to make learning enjoyable.
‘‘Let’s not subject our children to a lot of stress which affects their mental health. We want to make learning fun and likeable. Our children should rest and have enough sleep. Let children be children and enjoy their schooling life,’’ Machogu said.
Also, Grade 7 students joining Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) reported to various learning institutions yesterday.
The students reported to the schools domiciled in their former primary schools.
Machogu said school heads should give parents time to buy new uniforms for a smooth transition from primary to junior secondary.
“The uniforms should be the ones from primary school as BOM comes up with new uniforms. The school should give parents time to get the uniforms. We don't expect kids to be sent away because of uniform, there'll be no requirements of specific shops, allow parents to buy from where they want,” Machogu stated.
