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Sakaja to pay for stranded learners to return home after arriving in Nairobi


Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has promised to pay for the transport of all primary and secondary school pupils who arrived in Nairobi for the resumption of schools after the Ministry of Education changed the opening dates.

In an interview on Radio Citizen on Monday morning, April 29, the governor said parents who had sent their children to schools in Nairobi should not worry as they would return home safely.

“I will go around the bus stops and pay fare for the students to go back home because they are stranded and probably have no other means. So for all the students who are at bus stations in Nairobi, whether it’s Nyamakima stage, buses going to the Western region, Mount Kenya region and everywhere, I am now sending my team to check and I will also be there,” said Sakaja.

The governor also promised to ensure that they are provided with drinks and snacks when they return home.

His comments came hours after Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu announced that all schools would reopen on May 6, rather than this week as had been expected.

The move comes as heavy rains continue to wreak havoc across the country, paralysing movement in many parts of the country.

While the majority of Kenyans have questioned the CS’s late communication, which came even as some students were boarding vehicles on their way to schools, the governor said the CS may have received critical information late in the evening, prompting him to issue the statement on the postponement.

“Perhaps he received some information during the night or instructions were given and it is for the better. People should not think that the government takes some decisions to disadvantage them, it is just that there might be some information that he has and we are not aware of it.”

The CS revealed that the majority of parents in Nairobi had arrived at school early in the morning, meaning that the statement from the Ministry of Education came late and some parents were unaware of the changes.

According to CS, the announcement was also based on the impact of the rains on some schools.

“The devastating effects of the rain in some schools are so severe that it will be imprudent to risk the lives of learners and staff, watertight measures will be put in place to ensure adequate safety of all affected school communities,” Machogu said.

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