Special Program

COVID has left more than 90,000 schools closed with over 18 million pre-primary through secondary school learners and 150,000 refugees at home since mid-March (Republic of Kenya Ministry of Education).

■ In October 2020, schools reopened only for select grades that are taking critical transition period exams: Grade 4, Standard 8 (Grade 8), and Form 4 (seniors). The government is intending for schools to reopen for all children beginning January 4th, 2021, when the country typically begins its school year. Most students will have been without formal education for almost ten months and will need to repeat their grade level from last year in a condensed 2nd and 3rd term.

■ The decision to repeat the school year was based on inequality arising from varying levels of access to technology and remote learning. However, researchers worry that scrapping the school year will simply exacerbate already significant learning inequities (NYT).

■ During the pandemic, the Ministry of Education has provided educational content via TV and radio while students are home but that has proven to be insufficient and inaccessible for over half of Kenyan students. For example, radio lessons are broadcasted over a single channel in 20 minute segments focused on a given grade and subject at a time. As a result, some grades don’t have a single lesson in a day, while others typically have less than an hour.

■ For marginalized communities, limited resources and access to electricity and technology have left children without means to obtain formal education. Teen pregnancies and domestic violence are on the rise, while some children have resorted to child labor, drug abuse, and theft in the absence of schools’ safety net.