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Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
Nairobi - A section of Kenyan parents has questioned the government's decision to reopen schools amid heavy rainfall and floods still being experienced across the country.
During his meeting with Maa leaders at State House, Nairobi, on Wednesday, May 8, President William Ruto announced that schools would be reopening for the second term on Monday, May 13.
Ruto said the weatherman had confirmed that the rains would subside in the coming days, adding that the weather experts had concluded that it was safe for the learners to return to class.
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On May 3, the president indefinitely suspended the reopening of the schools across the country as a precaution against the flooding disaster.
However, the head of state's directive has not been welcomed by some parents who have raised concerns about their children's welfare.
Joash Ocholla, a resident of Kakola in Kisumu county stated that the schools were ill-prepared to host learners.
Ocholla pointed out that most classrooms had been destroyed by floodwaters and that pupils needed time to resume their studies.
He disclosed that snakes had overrun some of the classes, a danger to the pupils.
In Nakuru West, Moses Baraza lamented that if adults were scared of walking in the rain, then what about the minors?
Mary Nyaki urged the government to make adjustments to the school calendar to recover the lost time rather than endanger the lives of learners.
"Let's wait first; when the rain subsides, we'll go to school. For example, during the August holiday, they could give us about two weeks; instead of closing for three weeks, we extend it by two weeks, then extend the third term by one week to compensate for these weeks we've stayed at home due to the rain so that our children don't risk their lives," Nyaki suggested.
Earlier, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua revealed that heavy downpours had affected over 200,000 households in the country.
Government data indicated that as of Tuesday, May 7, the number of people killed by flooding and other impacts of the heavy rains has risen to 238 after 10 more bodies were recovered from Sunday, May 5.
While leading the distribution of food and non-food goods around Nyanza, government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said 75 people were still missing after being swept by floods in various parts of the country.
Mwaura disclosed that 47,000 households had been displaced by the floods nationwide, with Nairobi county leading with 164,000 people reportedly affected.
He added that close to 600,000 learners had no schools to go back to since many institutions were either hosting displaced people or destroyed with toilets sunk and roofs blown off.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
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