Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
 |
| Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru, Chairman of the Commission for Education and Religious Education of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) |
As the spread of Coronavirus continues to surge in the country, increasing the number of confirmed cases hence slowing down the progress of activities in the nation including reopening of schools. In the meantime, the Catholic Prelates have reminded parents to care for the safety and health of their children as they wait for reopening of schools when the situation will be safe and encouraged strengthening the bond of unity in families.
“Our children’s health and safety come first,” Chairman of the Commission for Education and Religious Education of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru said on Sunday, May 10, during a televised Mass at Holy Family Basilica, Nairobi.
“We understand the anxiety that parents, especially, those with candidates may have regarding their children’s prolonged absence from school. But Let us wait for directives from those managing the situation,” Bishop Kariuki explained referring to pupils who are to sit for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations this year.
The Bishops’ advice comes days after the Cabinet Secretary of Education in Kenya Professor George Magoha disclosed that government has been thinking about allowing reopening schools for candidates as the country continues to observe the situation when other learners can resume classes.
Bishop Kariuki who is the ordinary of Embu Diocese stated from the Bishops Conferences’ collective statement, “We should therefore take the opportunity we have as families to strengthen family bonds, to pray together, reflect, share and have fun together.”
He urged parents to train their children on how to be responsible especially while using electronic media for learning and encouraged the children who cannot manage learning digitally to use the opportunity for revision.
“Since many children are now spending countless number of hours online, parents now more than ever before, have a responsibility of training their children to be responsible digital citizens. For the many families who are not able to access e-learning materials, this time can be spent to learn through story-telling and reading, completing assignments and revising school work,”,” Bishop Kariuki continued.
“As families, we can make the experience of our children during this extended stay at home positively memorable!” the Prelate emphasized.
The Prelates reminded parents that their “homes are the first schools,” where the “earliest lessons in life are planted and nurtured, virtues are cultivated, lessons about the value and dignity of work are learned and family values that help us become responsible citizens are inculcated.”
The Prelates reminded parents that their “homes are the first schools,” where the “earliest lessons in life are planted and nurtured, virtues are cultivated, lessons about the value and dignity of work are learned and family values that help us become responsible citizens are inculcated.”
Acknowledging the efforts by the Church, the government and non-governmental organizations in fighting against the pandemic the country is facing, the Bishops said, “we laud the efforts of health-workers in hospitals and dispensaries, and those working in quarantine and isolation facilities; we laud the efforts of our security personnel and volunteers at all levels. We appreciate the workers in mission hospitals who are attending to many patients from all walks of life. God will bless you for your selflessness.”
In their statement titled “let us be a beacon of hope to one another,” the Bishops encourage the faithful not to be fearful but to remain hopeful in the Lord and to embrace those who have been cured from the disease and provide necessary support.
“There are a number of people who have been cured of the COVID-19. We appeal to all of us not to stigmatize them and welcome them to our families and communities. We also appeal to us to accept being tested because it is for our well being. Let us also support those among us in need of food, clothing and even shelter,” they added.
Meanwhile, the government of Kenya through the Ministry of Education has set up a task force dubbed COVID-19 Education Response Committee to advise on modalities of reopening schools and restoring normalcy in the education sector.