President William Ruto has ordered the Ministry of Education to postpone the re-opening of all schools in the country following the flooding crisis occasioned by the ongoing heavy rains.
President Ruto addressed the nation on Friday saying the school re-opening date to be postponed “until further notice”, noting that the situation is likely to escalate in the coming days.
Schools were initially set for re-opening on April 29, 2024, but the date was later pushed to May 6, 2024, due to disruptions from the heavy rains.
“No corner of our country has been spared from this havoc. The re-opening date of our schools after the April holidays, which was scheduled for Monday this week, had to be varied. Transportation has become challenging in many parts of the country due to flooded and damaged roads and bridges and the threat of raging rivers and overflowing dams in downstream regions,” said Ruto.
“The Ministry of Education is directed to postpone the re-opening of all schools in the country for the second term until further notice,” said Ruto on Friday.
The president said that 210 people had so far been killed by the floods, with many injured and property of unknown value destroyed.
“Sadly, we have not seen the last of this perilous period, as the situation is expected to escalate. Meteorological reports paint a dire picture: The rains will persist, increasing both in duration and intensity for the rest of this month and possibly after,” he said.
At the same time, President Ruto requested Members of Parliament to re-organize their CDF allocations to prioritise the reconstruction of school infrastructure that has been damaged as a result of the floods.
