President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday directed all teachers and support staff, irrespective of their ages, to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Initially, only teachers above 50 were eligible for vaccination.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha made the announcement while releasing the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Examination (KCPE) examination results, shortly after meeting the president at State House in Nairobi.
“All teachers and support staff in our schools be allowed to take Covid-19 vaccinations as part of the measures to ensure our schools are safe from the virus,” said Prof Magoha.
Magoha and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) chief executive Nancy Macharia revealed that so far, 26 primary schools teachers had succumbed to coronavirus.
“We have lost eight head teachers, three deputy headteachers and 15 teachers . Today, I’m happy to announce that the president has allowed teachers, irrespective of their age, to receive the jab. As of yesterday (Wednesday), 92,256 teachers had been vaccinated,” said Macharia.
She encouraged more teachers and specifically the 4,756 examiners who didn’t get a chance to get the vaccine due to their tight schedule occasioned by the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations to ensure they are vaccinated.
“Many of the examiners came to the marking centres immediately after invigilating the KCSE examinations. What this means is that the majority of them did not get the opportunity to get vaccinated,” said Macharia.
With KCSE marking set to start next week, Macharia has asked examiners to ensure they get vaccinated before embarking on the exercise.
Magoha said teachers should ensure they are vaccinated and adhere to the Ministry of Health protocols on containing the virus.
The CS noted that the school calendar had been affected by the Covid-19, forcing the government to close schools indefinitely in March last year.
Apart from the vaccine, TSC has already instructed teachers’ health insurance provider to cover all teachers against any Covid-19-related ailments. In January, the ministry negotiated with the commission’s medical insurance provider to cover all teachers who contracted Covid-19.
Meanwhile, save for Fourth Graders and First Formers, all learners are expected back in school on May 10, a plan Magoha sees will go through despite the third wave of the pandemic.
“We are hopeful we will open schools as scheduled although we continue to monitor the trends of the Covid-19 situation and schools’ preparedness so that we can adhere to the Ministry of Health guidelines,” said Magoha.
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has initiated disciplinary proceedings against three top…
SUBJECT: SUSPENSION OF LEARNING AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES The University Senate in a special meeting held…
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will extend application deadline for 46,000 jobs it recently advertised.…
Teachers seeking deployment to junior secondary and special schools will have to wait a little…
TO: ALL ICT STAFF REF: TSC/(ICT)/GEN/EMS/100/VOL1/23 DATE: 26TH SEPTEMBER 2024 USE OF EMAILS ON ALL…
TEACHERS SERVICE COMMISSION S/NOCOUNTYSUB-COUNTYALLOCATIONTOTAL1BARINGO 127 Baringo Central19 Baringo North18 Koibatek18 Marigat18 Mogotio18 Tiaty East18 Tiaty West18 2BOMET 127 Bomet Central25 Bomet East26 Chepalungu26 Konoin25 Sotik25 3BUNGOMA 128 Bumula6 Bungoma Central11 Bungoma East11 Bungoma North10 Bungoma South10 Bungoma West10 Cheptais11 Kimilili…