Members of parliament have faulted the ministry of education for ordering the closure of over 300 schools over non compliance to host boarding facilities
The lawmakers, speaking before the house plenary, argue that inadequate consultation and public participation was conducted to warranty the flagging off the school.
Flanked by south Mugirango Mps Sylvanus Osoro and his Dadaab counterpart Farah Maalim the MPs have slammed the closure of the schools as untimely noting that it has left thousand of parents stranded ahead of the January school reopening.
”Looking at the education challenges that we are facing, the issues of CBC, the issues of grade nine, the issues of school fees and economic challenges, parents are left confused on what to do when schools resume in January.” osoro lamented
On his part Maalim has described as an education catastrophe the state’s directive as he urged the National assembly education committee to get to the bottom of the matter.
”There ought to have been a timeline, more or less, for lack of a better word, moratorium of timeline, so that they can be able to comply gradually. We should not be making panic reactions.” Maalim said.
In a statement on Monday, Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang said a compliance assessment conducted in September and October established that some institutions grossly contravened the provisions of the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya (2008).
The PS said the schools also failed to adhere to the standards as prescribed in the Registration Guidelines for Basic Education Institutions (2021), and were consequently not approved to host boarding learners.
“The purpose of this circular, therefore, is to direct you to close down the boarding sections of all schools within your jurisdiction that were not approved as per the attached list,” he said.