More than 54,000 students will be forced to seek alternatives schools as over 200 private schools across the country fail to resume classes due to harsh economic times.
The Kenya Private Sector Association(KPSA) chief executive Peter Ndoro said the operators lack money to meet daily operational costs, pay rent as well as fuel school vans.
“Many operators had borrowed money to expand their facilities and hire staff but the seven months’ closure following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive eroded their income sources leaving many without money to service loans and maintain their facilities,” he said.
Mr Ndoro said some private schools also lost teachers and other essential staff due to inability to cater for their salaries making it impossible to re-open after Education secretary George Magoha gave the greenlight for Grade Four, Standard Eight and Form Four candidates.
The CEO said they requested a Sh7 billion ‘stimulus’ package from the government.
“We sent in our proposals for a stimulus package but the bureaucracies in government have delayed its release. The schools that re-opened are going on well with admission of children,” he said.
Speaking at Olympic primary school in Kibera, Nairobi where KNB Group donated one million face masks for public schools, Mr Magoha said they are monitoring the situation ahead of the planned full re-opening of learning institutions.
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“Whether you attended online classes on not, learning will begin from where it stopped and no one will be penalised for not attending online classes and to chase away a child for not attending the classes is criminal,” he said.
