Submerged classrooms, flooded compounds, collapsed ablution blocks and destroyed buildings are some of the scenes that will welcome learners when they report back to school on Monday.
Thousands of learners are also likely to face transportation challenges following destruction of many roads across the country, with bridges that were swept away by floods still in a state of disrepair.
A nationwide spot check by the Nation shows that while many schools are ready to resume learning, there are quite a number that are uninhabitable and pose both health and safety challenges to learners and teachers.
Ruto school closure exposes class divide among Kenyan parents How State plans to recover lost school daysPresident William Ruto said yesterday that schools will be reopened following advice from the Meteorological Department.
All parents are now advised, based on the assessment of weather experts and the government, that it is safe for our children to go back to school, a statement from State House quoted Dr Ruto.
He said the government will release funds to the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) for rehabilitation of schools that have been damaged by the floods. The President last week requested MPs to utilise the kitty for the rehabilitation of schools since the Ministry of Education does not have an allocation for emergency response.
According to a statement released later yesterday by Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, 257 people have so far died as a result of the floods, with 188 others injured.
Mr Mwaura said 54,837 households have been displaced, affecting 293,661 people. Some of the displaced are hosted in public schools. Additionally, 44 cases of cholera have been confirmed.
Several roads have been rendered impassable due to water overflows and road cut-offs. Strong water currents have also made some roads dangerous for vehicle passage and increased water stagnation is damaging many roads, Mr Mwaura said.
However, he did not give details of learning institutions that have been affected. Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu last week instructed boards of management of schools to send status reports of their institutions to county education boards. The boards have until tomorrow to submit their consolidated reports.
President Rutos move to reopen schools has, however, elicited mixed reactions. The government should have dealt with restoring school infrastructure, repairing bridges and roads before issuing the order to reopen them, Ms Beatrice Koech, a resident of Litein in Kericho County, said.
How are we expected to release children to cross rivers whose banks have burst due to floods? Which sane parent will allow his young child to use makeshift bridges to cross rivers and navigate through roads that have been cut off? she posed.
In Bomet County, especially in Chepalungu and Sotik constituencies and lower parts of Bomet East, Kipranye, Kaplele, Kipkoligo, Itembe,Chebirir, Kapkwen and Cheboingong are some of the affected schools, with toilets overflowing with water.
At Kisabita, Sigowet and Itembe primary schools in Chepalungu, pit latrines have collapsed.
It poses a huge risk to the learners as schools reopen next week, Bicoty Kenduiywa, a parent said.
All the 14 latrines at Mathenya Day Mixed Secondary School in Ngobit Ward, Laikipia County, have been destroyed.
High water tableWe dont have an immediate solution to this problem since digging new ones is not practical at the moment due to the high water table resulting from the heavy rains, said Mr Felix Hamadi, the county director of education.
He said that ablution facilities in 42 other schools had been destroyed. At Nanyuki Garrison Primary and Junior Secondary School, half of the toilets are unusable. Other affected learning institutions include Mutirithia Primary and JSS, where the entire school compound remains under water. Transport along the Nanyuki-Naibor-Il Polei road poses challenges to students who will be heading to Dol Dol Secondary, Il Polei Secondary and St Francis Girls High.
The construction company contracted to upgrade it to bitumen standards in November 2021 at a cost of Sh596 million left after doing only 10 per cent of the work.
Parents at Kimbimbi Primary in Kiri
