Parents have been urged to pay closer attention to their children as schools close today for the two-month-long holiday to pave way for national examinations which start next week.

Over two million learners will sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) from Monday and over 800,000 will sit the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations thereafter.

Rehearsals for KCPE and KPSEA exams will take place tomorrow.

In the last two years, schools have been taking a short break in December owing to the revised school calendar to cover for the lost time during the nine-month closure in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Education has already issued the 2023 academic year schedule in which the school calendar has reverted to three terms a year, from four in the last two years.

“As you are aware, the school calendar was disrupted due to Covid-19 pandemic. However, the calendar will revert to normal in January 2023,” said Education PS Julius Jwan, in a circular to Regional and Country Directors of Education.

The first term of 2023 academic year will start on January 23 and run for 13 weeks until April 21.

The National Parents Association chairman Silas Obuhatsa yesterday called for  more involved parenting during this period.

“They should spend enough time with their children. Parents spend a lot of time in their work places and come back late in the night, wake up early to go to work, so this is the time to create time for their children,” he said.

Grade Six

He urged parents to set a good example and use the holidays to bond with their children and engage in constructive and empowering activities for the good of their children.

The NPA chair observed that Grade Six children need guidance.

“These children are going through adolescence and they need a lot of care and guidance from their parents. There is need to understand that children are transiting in two ways, from childhood to adulthood and to Junior Secondary School and require a lot of guidance,” he said.

Obuhatsa said after exams, children should also be given some time to relax and spend time in activities like football, character modeling programmes, swimming and watching programmes beneficial to their wellbeing.

The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) urged parents to fully exercise their responsibility over their children during the school holidays.

Digital literacy

Speaking during a press conference yesterday, the board’s acting CEO Christopher Wambua encouraged parents and caregivers to practice responsible digital parenting and viewing practices with their children during the eight-week holiday.

KFCB also plans to collaborate with relevant partners and implement a Parental Digital Literacy Programme (PaDiL) to assist parents in monitoring their children’s digital content consumption habits.

He added: “We also urge parents and guardians to take a keen interest in the gaming content and activities that their children are exposed to, especially on the internet and the gaming consoles or play stations in their homes.”

KFCB also advised parents to deactivate the in-game chat functionalities to avoid undue interactions with strangers.

Through their “Form Ni Safi” initiative, KFCB is currently collaborating with Public Service Vehicle operators and Saccos to strengthen child protection measures against exposure to harmful content.

Positive values

Zizi Afrique Foundation Director of Programmes Virginia Ngindiru also called for broader parental engagement and child protection so that parents take time to understand where their children are, what they are doing, their company and also identify any vulnerabilities and being cautious at all times.

She also called on parents to spend time to nurture life skills and inculcate positive values in their children.

“This could include candid conversation and participating in activities like church programmes. Enroll them just to give the exposure to do what is right and acceptable,” Ngindiru said.

On continued learning, she said parents should create a routine for personalised learning.

Ngindiru said there is need to encourage a reading culture and create spaces for this purpose.

“Parents can team up and have some reading activities,” she adds.

The holidays, she added, are the best time for home based projects, which could include preparing meals and other constructive activities that are related to learning.

“Parents should encourage home-based activities that facilitate learning,” she said.