The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced that at least 90 teachers died after contracting Covid-19 since the global pandemic broke out in the country in March 2020.
Speaking on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, TSC boss Nancy Macharia said that the number could have been higher had it not been for the protocols that were adopted by the government.
“We have taken measures to ensure that both teachers and learners are safe to forestall the loss of life occasioned by the virus, “ Nancy Macharia said.
Miss Macharia called on teachers to take the Covid-19 jab, saying that the vaccine was the only surest way of overcoming the virus. Teachers are among the essential workers who have been prioritized by the government in the vaccine rollout.
TSC has threatened teachers who are not keen on being vaccinated with disciplinary action for endangering public health.
While marking the World Teachers Day 2021, Macharia celebrated teachers in the country for braving the pandemic and continuing to ensure quality learning in schools.
“Happy World Teachers’ Day 2021. Our dear teachers, we celebrate you for your tireless efforts towards ensuring quality education for the learner. You are truly the cornerstone of the country’s positive trajectory on the path to education recovery during the Covid-19 era,” Macharia stated.
“This occasion is significant since it brings to the fore, the significant role that teachers play in the provision of quality education,” she said.
Macharia recognised 31 of the most outstanding teachers, those who have consistently demonstrated exemplary performance in teaching, management and effective delivery of the curriculum for quality education.
“All of us agree that the audacity of teachers to defy the COVID-19 rage in October last year and return to school in support of the 1st phase of schools’ reopening was the gamechanger,” she noted.
“No one can gainsay the fact that teachers have been at the centre of resuscitating our academic programmes in Kenya after we were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic,” she added.