Coronavirus upends best laid education plans in tough year
Wednesday December 30 2020
Children play at Star of Hope Primary in Lunga Lunga village, Industrial Area Nairobi attends to a student on November 2. Schools reopen on January 4. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG
By LYNET IGADWAH
Summary
Many parents were optimistic that the interruption in the first term would soon be over and their children back in class. In hindsight now, Kenyans were underestimating the disruptive power of the pandemic whose impact they had yet to fully comprehend.
As the Ministry of Education grappled with unworkable school reopening dates in subsequent months when Covid-19 infections spiked, it became clear that pupils and students were in real danger of losing out on an academic year.
THE STANDARD By
Kalangi Kiambati |
December 31st 2020 at 10:15:00 GMT +0300
Pupils at Kirawa Road School in Nairobi during a class session on Oct 13, 2020. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]
There is no gainsaying that 2020 has been the hardest year for many people. Covid-19 has had devastating effects on the world economy and many people will continue to experience the ripple effects for some time.
From the loss of employment to the closure of businesses, many people have to readjust their lives as they find their footing within the new realities that they find themselves.
In Kenya, some of the hardest hit businesspeople were those in the private learning institutions. The continued closure of schools inevitably led to loss of revenue for the proprietors, with some schools resorting to alternative businesses that saw some playgrounds turn into vegetable gardens and classrooms into chicken coops in a desperate attempt to keep their staff working.
THE STANDARD By
Daniel Wesangula |
January 1st 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
Zachary Murimi, a Form Four leaver, lifts a job placard along Mombasa Road in Nairobi, on Thursday, October 01 2020 as he pleads with well-wishers to offer him any available job opportunity. [David Njaaga, Standard]
While everyone else was making plans to have a great 2020, a pandemic introduced itself to the world.
First, it announced its presence in the Chinese province of Wuhan before going global, touching every continent, except Antarctica; touching almost every nation and almost every neighbourhood.
The results have been the devastation of the global economy and human relations. While there are people or industries that have remained untouched, millions have been negatively affected by the consequences of a pandemic.
THE STANDARD By
Augustine Oduor |
January 1st 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
Part of 44 Teenagers at Kabete police station after they were arrested by Police officers at Mountain View Estate in Nairobi. The teens between the ages of 14-17 are suspected of committing illicit activities. Nov 22, 2020. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]
Barely a month after schools were shut in March last year, to stem spread of the coronavirus, Prisca Asere noticed several changes in her house routine.
The quantity of food portions consumed in her house, with five children, drastically went up, pushing up the cost of meals as most family members stayed at home.
School Reopening: Headteachers Call For Shift System
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha at a school in Nyeri on October 28, 2020.
File
Headteachers have opposed the full reopening of schools scheduled for January 4, 2021, citing inadequate preparation in a majority of schools.
The Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association (Kepsha) during a meeting in Nairobi on December 28 cautioned against the reopening, noting that they were underfunded.
The school heads argued that the large populations in several public primary schools would make it near impossible for them to implement and adhere to health protocols in the fight against Covid-19.
A file image of a teacher in a classroom