Students have resumed learning in schools countrywide, after spending close to 10 months at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On Monday, pupils were seen flocking to schools, with at least 15 million resuming in person learning.
The government has so far spent Kshs 4 billion on primary schools, Kshs 12 billion on secondary schools, coupled with hiring 5,000 teachers to meet the high demand and mitigate any negative effects brought about by the reopening.
Speaking at Olympic primary school in Nairobi after inspecting the progress of learning and welcoming back students, Education CS Prof. George Magoha said everything is progressing well, and the main challenge on board is overcrowding.
He said 140 more desks will be availed for the school, 70 on Monday and the remaining 70 during the course of the week. He said at the moment, teachers and pupils require encouragement, “We may not be perfect but there are many children here. If water becomes the problem, we are on standby to ensure they get water,” he said.
In some schools, teachers have taken a creative route and are teaching students outside classrooms, and under trees in order to effect the social distancing directive. CS Magoha had urged schools to be creative in how they conduct classes, given that social distancing won’t be easy to achieve.
However, in all schools, pupils were seen wearing masks, with the government’s insistence that no pupil should fail to have two reusable masks.