The government through the Ministry of Education has announced that all schools will reopen on Monday, May 13, 2024, for the second term.
President William Ruto, speaking at State House Nairobi after meeting leaders from Kajiado and Laikipia, promised that classrooms that floods have destroyed will be repaired before reopening.
"All parents are advised on the assessment of weathermen and on the assessment of the government of Kenya it will now be safe and we have made adequate arrangements, we have asked members of parliament and we have provided resources through the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) for (the) repairs of classrooms and other learning facilities across Kenya and therefore all schools will be opened on Monday next week," Ruto said.
This comes days after Ruto postponed schools reopening until further notice, following floods which ravaged the country.
In a State of the Nation Address on Friday, May 3, 2024, Ruto directed the Ministry of Education to postpone the reopening of schools for the second time.
Initially, schools were set to open on April 29, but the date was pushed to May 6 before the President postponed the reopening to a further date.
On Friday, Ruto requested MPs to re-organize their CDF allocations to prioritise the reconstruction of school infrastructure that floods have damaged.
"Members of Parliament are requested to re-organize their CDF allocations to prioritise the reconstruction of school infrastructure that has been damaged as a result of the floods. As the National Government plays its role in dealing with the current situation, I request County Governments, Development Partners and the Private Sector to join the efforts," Ruto stated on Friday.
"The current unprecedented crisis of floods that our country faces, as well as the recent devastating drought our country faced (the worst in 40 years, after five consecutive failed rainy seasons), is a direct consequence of our failure to protect our environment, resulting in the painful effects of climate change we are witnessing today. Our country is poised to remain in this cyclical crisis for a long time unless and until we confront the existential threat of climate change."
