Parents and teachers were yesterday thrown into confusion following a Ministry of Education directive that primary and secondary schools take an early break starting today.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha directed immediate closure of schools, saying the new dates of the half-term break supersede any earlier communication on the matter.

“As you are all aware, Kenya is scheduled to conduct its national elections on August 9. Therefore, following further consultations, I hereby convey the Government’s decision on the immediate closure of all basic education institutions with effect from August 2 until August 10 to ensure that preparations and conduct of the upcoming elections are carried out seamlessly,” said Magoha in a statement yesterday.

“Schools and parents are advised to ensure that learners at all basic education institutions proceed on their half-term break effective Tuesday, August 2, and resume on August 11,” the CS added.

Just on Sunday, the CS — while on an inspection tour of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) classrooms in Kiambu — said that schools would take a break from August 6.

“We are breaking again on August 6 for elections and we shall not open until August 15,” the CS, who spoke from Musa Gitau Secondary School on Sunday, said.

Mid-term exams

Yesterday, as the CS issued the directive, the majority of schools were starting their mid-term exams, since the initial dates indicated that schools would take a break starting August 5 and resume on August 15.

“The news has caught us off-guard. Tomorrow (today) we were set to begin our mid-term exams,” said a parent.

But schools had no option other than to follow the Ministry’s directive.

“Greetings. Following the directive from the Ministry of Education, we will reschedule our half-term break to the morning of Wednesday, August 3 from 7.00am,” read a message from one of the schools.

“Kindly send fare for our daughters today (Monday). Treat this as urgent. We will confirm any changes on the date of departure from school after the Government directive is clarified. Ignore this text if the fare was already sent,” read another.

Parents took to social media to complain over the sudden change of dates, saying it would inconvenience many children.

“How do you suddenly tell parents that children are going home tomorrow (Tuesday)? Some parents really hustle for bus fare and they need time to prepare,” said an agitated parent on Twitter.

“Concentration for this year’s candidates is greatly affected because of these breaks. May God help them pass despite all this. It is also expensive for parents in this hard economy …  is it school fees, food or transport that parents will look for? posed another social media user on Facebook.

With another one saying: “Seriously? And we still have to pay full second-term fees? Wazazi tunaumia (parents are suffering).”

But there are those who welcomed the move saying it is the best decision given the few days left to the General Election.

“It makes sense … especially for those who have to travel far during the election period. They will have time to make arrangements,” reads one comment.

With another user saying: “Education is very important, but so is our children’s safety. It is the right time to let children go for a break as the country prepares for elections.”

There are also those who questioned the viability of the August 11 date when learners are expected to resume learning and asked the Ministry to push it to August 15 instead.

“The August 11 date that the Ministry has issued is somehow uncertain. It will be just a day after voting and we need to be sure that it is safe for our children to go back to school,” reads another comment.

Shortest calendar

The 2022 academic calendar is the shortest in the history of the country. It was revised by the Ministry to make up for lost time during the long closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After elections, schools are expected to run for about one month and close on September 17, while Term 3 is to begin on September 26 to November 25.

Teachers and Grade 6, Standard 8 and Form 4 learners are expected to put their best foot forward to adequately prepare for national examinations scheduled for between November and December.

Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) is to run from November 28 to December 30, while the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) will run for three weeks from December 1 to 23.

Schools are expected to go back to the normal calendar in January next year.