Teachers ordered to vacate schools by education ministry; Find out why

Teachers ordered to vacate school premises by education ministry; Find out why

A fresh directive issued by the education ministry ordering teachers and support staff to vacate schools has raised eyebrows about the level of preparedness for learners to resume studies soon.

The latest circular signed by education permanent secretary Dr. Belio Kipsang requires that teachers and other staff vacate  all school premises to allow the ministry of health fumigate and disinfect them by Monday September 28.

TSC Directs All Teachers to Report Back to their Stations by Monday September 28, 2020

This new directive is a contradiction of the latest order issued by the teachers service commission, TSC directing teachers to report to work by Monday September 28.

Below are some of the duties that teachers are expected to undertake once they resume duty

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This is what TSC Expects Teachers to do once they resume duty on Monday, September 28

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It is in the public domain that all teachers have been directed by their employer, the Teachers Service Commission, TSC to resume work by Monday, September 28, 2020.

What TSC did not clear however is what the teachers who will be reporting earlier than the learners will be expected to do once they resume work.

There are numerous speculations about what the ministry and the Commission expect of its employees from now onwards.

In this article, we shall shed more light on why exactly the TSC and the ministry of education have recalled teachers on very short notice.

Photos doing rounds in the media right now show the sorry state of some of our public schools. In some areas, classrooms have been washed away following the long rains in the past few months.

Other schools are over-congested. Learners, therefore, have to be reorganized in such a way that social distancing and sanitization are achieved once they resume learning.

In those schools where floods have washed away the classrooms, the teachers are expected to ensure that the learners get transferred to other schools in safer grounds to avoid heightening learning inequalities further in the post-Covid-19 era.

The teachers will also mark points within the schools to ensure that learners do not gather in large numbers at any particular point in time.

Besides, it is upon the teachers to ensure that the learning schedule is reorganized to ensure social distancing among other health guidelines.

According to the latest reopening guidelines, every school should come up with a covid-19 response committee to coordinate response strategies in case of an infection.

The committees will comprise five members: a learner/ trainee, a non-teaching staff member, one board of management member,s and teachers.

Teachers in managerial positions on the other hand are expected to conduct sensitization programs for parents, learners, teachers, subordinate staff, and other community members on the importance of hygiene and social distancing in schools and at home at all times.

Parents and the surrounding community will be made aware of their indispensable role in ensuring the health and safety of learners, trainees, and staff.

Learners will be sensitized using age and gender – appropriate information education communication materials on covid-19 prevention and control.

This, therefore, means that school heads will be obliged to develop awareness messages on key infection, prevention, and control measures to promote good hygiene practices.

They will also work hand in hand with school sponsors to provide psychosocial and spiritual support to both learners and staff to help mitigate the psychological impact of the pandemic.

School heads will also be expected to carry out a risk assessment for suitability focusing on space, water, sanitation, provision of meals, and transport of learners and develop mitigation measures.

Teachers, parents, and religious organizations also have a key role to play by ensuring they work closely with the Ministry of Health and the whole institutions’ ecosystem.

Identification of at least one health facility within a 10-kilometer radius and collaboration with county governments to have some health officials assigned to every school for regular health monitoring and sensitization has to be done in time.

Heads are expected to collaborate with MoH through sub-county education offices to identify quarantine centers, at least one in every sub-county in case the pandemic reoccurs.

Extra care should be taken while isolating minors especially the girl child to ensure that children and student’s rights are safeguarded at all costs.

Lastly, teachers are expected to ensure there is a designated room within the institution’s premises for use as a sickbay or temporary isolation if the need arises.