Private schools reject revised term dates
What you need to know:
- Last week, Education minister Mutula Kilonzo directed that schools would open on February 4 and break on May 17.
- The ministry wants the second term to run from June 3 to September 6, with the final term starting on September 30 and ending on November 29.
- Mr Wangai also said time lost during last month’s teachers’ strike will have been recovered by the start of the next academic year.
Private schools have rejected revised term dates for 2013 and called for a January 7 opening date instead of February 4.
Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) chairman Ernest Wangai said they had been negotiating with the ministry and were given the leeway to develop term dates before a decision was made.
A fortnight ago, KPSA submitted the proposed dates to the ministry, which would see the first term run from January 7 to April 12.
Last week, Education minister Mutula Kilonzo directed that schools would open on February 4 and break on May 17.
The ministry wants the second term to run from June 3 to September 6, with the final term starting on September 30 and ending on November 29. (READ: New term dates to set off a series of delays)
Acknowledging that the ministry should come up with term dates, Mr Wangai said he was confident it would consider his association’s proposal.
“If we reopen on February 4, children will have been away from school for so long it will take them some time to return to learning mode,” he said after meeting private school directors in Nairobi.
Mr Wangai also said time lost during last month’s teachers’ strike will have been recovered by the start of the next academic year.
Mr Mutula said children had lost a lot of learning time and he had consulted with the Kenya National Examinations Council and Teachers Service Commission before deciding on the dates.
Mr Wangai, however, argued that private schools would be affected financially if the new term dates were effected.
“They operate on money from fees and have tight budgets. If you change the dates, some of the schools will not be able to operate at all,” he said.
National examinations dates were affected by the minister’s directive that candidates complete the syllabus before sitting for their papers.
The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams will be on December 4 to 6 instead of November 13 to 15 while the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam, which was scheduled to begin last Thursday, starts on October 15.
