EDUCATION TOO ,IS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE

 With the Covid 19 pandemic, most schools shut their doors in early March. 

Parents, teachers,stakeholders in the education sector and the students were caught off guard. 

In Kenya, the curriculum is examination oriented and this could be largely the reason the said group of people got into a panic mode. 

Online and offline strategies have been put in place to ensure learning continues. This only applies to a minority few of students both in primary and secondary schools. 

Such strategies include printing learning and revision materials, creating subject specific content and sharing with students through platforms such as the Google classroom and WhatsApp  and offering live lessons through zoom .These strategies allow for editing of students assignments and onlline consultation through structured chats.

Schools,both private and public have conducted their examinations online, edited them,shared progressive reports to their students in softcopy and eventually taken the August holiday break. They are to resume their online lessons in  September. Such schools have easily adapted to the new normal way of curriculum delivery. For them, education cannot wait even in the midst of the current Covid 19 pandemic. 

Unfortunately,  majority of learners from poor  backgrounds and  far to reach areas stopped learning with the closure of schools occasioned by the Covid 19 pandemic. It is from this group that cases of early pregnancies, early and forced marriages  drug and substance abuse,suicide cases and depression are most prevalent. These categories of learners confess to miss school  their teachers and peers. 

For  them ,school has mostly been a second home that provides the highly needed stable mind,structured routine, psychosocial and cognitive protection as well as a hope for the future.