Economy

Magoha orders smaller class size of 20 learners

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Education Secretary George Mogoha. FILE PHOTO | NMG

School classrooms will be trimmed to between 15 and 20 learners per session from average 40 in keeping with the social distancing rules when the institutions reopen in September, the State has said.

Education Secretary George Mogoha said teachers will also be required to report to school two weeks before the reopening for training on Covid-19.

The State is considering reopening schools in September six months after closing the institutions to help contain the spread of coronavirus.

“We will need teachers in school two weeks earlier because they need to be trained in Covid-19,” Prof Magoha said yesterday.

Prof Magoha who was speaking in Kitui said the State was also working to produce 24 million masks so that each learner can get at least two pieces.

The government is also focusing on providing hand sanitisers and two washable face masks for each pupil to shield them from possible infections.

The institutions will also be required to sanitise often-touched objects such as door knobs, light switches and stair railings with disinfectant. “We are working on these measures because we want to ensure that the school environment is safe for the learners and teachers,” he said.

Calls by the State to reopen schools in September comes at a time most Kenyans are opposed to reopening, fearing a spike in coronavirus infections among children.

An Infotrak survey released last week showed that 70 percent of Kenyans do not support reopening in September.

However, most support reopening of churches and places of worship.

Kenya confirmed 254 new cases on Wednesday, taking the total count to 5,206.