On Monday, the Kenya Government said that it would delay the reopening of schools by 7 days due to “ongoing heavy rains” that have set off deadly floods in the East African nation.
School resumption which were originally slated to reopen on Monday, after the mid-term holidays, but the heavy monsoon downpours have affected several educational facilities, forcing the education ministry to delay the resumption of classes.
Education Minister, Ezekiel Machogu had said,
“The devastating effects of the rains in some of the schools is so severe that it will be imprudent to risk the lives of learners and staff before water-tight measures are put in place to ensure adequate safety.”“Based on this assessment, the Ministry of Education decided to postpone the reopening of all primary and secondary schools by one week, to Monday, May 6, 2024.”
Since the heavy rains began in March, seventy-six people have lost their lives in Kenya — a situation compounded by the El Nino weather pattern.
Flash floods have inundated roads and neighbourhoods, leading to the displacement of over 130,000 people across 24,000 households, in the capital city, Nairobi, according to government figures released on Saturday.
Belio Kipsang, the principal secretary for education, had said on Friday that about Sixty-four public schools in Nairobi — almost a third of the total number — have been “substantially affected” by the flooding.
The monsoons have also caused notable damage across neighbouring Tanzania, where at least 155 people have been killed in flooding and landslides.
Additionally, in Burundi, around 96,000 people have been displaced by months of relentless rains.
Uganda has also born the brunt of the heavy storms that have caused riverbanks to burst, with two deaths confirmed and several hundred villagers displaced.
El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon typically associated with increased heat worldwide, leading to drought in certain parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.
