The government has been urged to classify teachers and other education workers as vulnerable.
In a meeting with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance chaired by Interior CS Fred Matiang'i on Thursday, the stakeholders said listing teachers as vulnerable will ensure they benefit from the government's cash transfer programme.
The stakeholders also said the government should offer soft loans to education institutions to help them weather the Covid-19 pandemic.
They said there should be mass distribution of solar powered radios to vulnerable groups so learning can resume.
This comes as the teachers' union demanded the postponement of KCSE and KCPE exams to early 2021.
Knut secretary general and nominated MP Wilson Sossion said any rush to reopen schools might put lives of learners at risk.
Sossion said reopening should be negotiated and not dictated. "Parents are not ready to release children back to schools. Health experts have indicated that this pandemic is likely to be at its peak month in August so schools are likely to resume in September, " he said.
He said the government should focus on flattening the curve before any plan to resume learning.
During the meeting, stakeholders echoed Sossion's sentiments by saying occupational and health assessment of all schools should be undertaken first. It is estimated that the education sector has lost 320,000 jobs through layoffs.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics showed that the job loss was an equivalent of 53 per cent of learning institutions that had reported layoffs. "The sector has recorded the highest variance of 40 hours between the usual and actual hours worked in a week," the Kepsa report showed.
On a positive note, some jobs have been created through ICT in the sector with EdTech being a huge area of potential growth.
With regards to workplace protocols, the stakeholders called for adherence to social distancing, PPEs for employees, working from home and community sensitisation.
Coordination between State Department of Immigration, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health should allow foreign students who are minors to access education with their Dependents Passes, the stakeholders said.
They also said there is great need for speedy processing of pupils passes for students who have attained the majority age.
