Ministry of education issues guidelines of transporting students back home

The Ministry of Education has issued guidelines to be followed by schools to ensure students reach their home safely after the President ordered they be closed. The directive came as a measure to contain the spread of Coronavirus which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Ministry of education guidelines of transporting students after schools were closed over coronavirus/Photo Source

The circular dated 16th March 2020 puts more emphasis on the earlier one that was released on 13th March when Kenya which confirmed Kenya’s first case of COVID-19.

Yesterday Kenya reported two new positive cases of Covid-19 which makes a total of three confirmed cases. This led to the closure of all schools in a press statement issued by president Uhuru Kenyatta on 15th March 2020.

Closure of Schools over COVID-19

All the day-schools were ordered to be closed by 16th March 2020 while boarding schools were given until Wednesday 18th to ensure that all children are out of the school premises. Universities and tertiary institutions were supposed to close by 20th March.

Prevention Guidelines

The ministry of education has therefore given guidelines to be followed while evacuating students from their respective schools. According to the 16th March circular; parents who will pick their children from schools are advised to do so in an orderly manner that will not bring commotion in the environment. They are advised to maintain a high degree of hygiene, avoid shaking hands and to keep a one-meter social distance. They are also expected to only pick children with permission from school principals and headmasters.

Schools must ferry students who will not be picked by their parents to their homes or a designated station where they will be picked by their guardians. The pickup points should be appropriate and convenient for both the parents and the students.

The ministry stated that buses which belong to days-schools will be put in use to help mobilize the exercise.

The circular further directed schools to use vehicles from outside to ferry students to their homes as long as they are NTSA certified, well cleaned and sanitized. The vehicles should be inspected by the head of institutions before the transit and the driver is not allowed to pick any other passenger along the way.