Flooding across Kenya is expected to prevent up to 2,500 students from returning to school after the Christmas holiday, the UN's IRIN news agency reported Thursday (January 3rd).

School is scheduled to resume on Monday (January 7th) but many school facilities have been damaged or are being used as temporary shelters for people displaced by the flooding, said Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education George Godia.

"In many of the areas where flooding occurred, families are living in school compounds, and yet schools will open in just a few days," Godia said. "We fear, and rightly so, that this might affect learning in the affected areas."

In Nyando district, 400 people were displaced when the Nyando River overflowed from its banks, and are now sheltered in schools that together serve 1,000 pupils. In the Elgeyo and Marakwet districts, landslides killed 13 people, affected 500 families, and damaged 13 school buildings, which could also affect more than 1,000 pupils.

The Kenya Meteorological Department has predicted that heavy rains will continue until the end of January.