Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Assosciation (KSSSA) wants school games to resume in May, Nation Sport understands.
This was one of the recommendations made during the four-day retreat organised by the Ministry of Education seeking to finalise work on health and safety protocols for the resumption of secondary school sports at the Kigari Teachers Training College in Embu.
The retreat, which ended over the weekend, was attended by top officials from the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) and Ministry of Education.
Peter Orero, the KSSSA chairman, said the retreat agreed on the proposals which they will present to Education Principal Secretary, Dr Belio Kipsang for review and eventually to CS Proff. George Magoha with the hope that the games may resume in May with strict observation of health guidelines.
“We are very confident that these proposals will be accepted so that students can finally get back to showcasing their talents on the pitch," said Orero.
According to Orero, the Ministry is set to call a meeting next month which will bring together all stakeholders involved in co- curricular activities in schools so that they can draft a calendar of events to begin in May.
Orero said some of the activities may have to be merged depending on the time frame the ministry will allow.
The retreat also discussed establishment of guidelines for resumption of all sports in schools and strategies for handling challenges expected in the implementation of Covid 19 protocols by schools and federations.
They also analysed the status of school games in Africa in the context of Covid 19,team training logistics and physical education.
Health protocols for Federation of East African Secondary School Association (FEASSA) games, and the World School games were also looked at.
This should be good news to the secondary school students who have been left idle since the schools games were abruptly brought to a halt by the coronavirus in March last year while term one games were at the regional level.
The presidential directive on Covid 19 containment measures issued earlier this year directed that all extra -curricular activities such as sports, drama, music and prize giving days should be prohibited for the 90 days upto March 12.
Kenya has witnessed a surge in cases of student unrest in secondary schools, something school heads have blamed on lack of co-curriculur activities in schools amidst a congested congested calendar.
Primary and secondary schools re-opened on January 4. However, Form Four students and Grade Four pupils resumed learning late last year.
Orero however said the decision as to what stage the championships will start from and the format to be used will be discussed during the next retreat in March.
If the games do resume in May, they will lock out Form Four students, who shall have already completed their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, which start on March 26.
