Let’s hope polls will not disrupt school calendar
Students head to board matatus in Eldoret on their way home after schools closed for third term holiday on March 3, 2022.
President John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, once said, “peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. Let’s strive to build peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people.
I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings”.
We’re headed for the August 9 General Election and the rallying call for all our leaders and citizens should be at peace during and after the elections. This is not beyond us. Peaceful elections and other political processes are not only pivotal to the quality of a country’s governance and advancement of democratic development, but also for the stability of all sectors including education.
Our education sector is just emerging from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which greatly disrupted the academic calendar.
The disruption to education caused by the pandemic constituted the worst academic crisis in history. The academic calendar will normalise by the end of the year and peaceful elections will guard against further disruptions.
Public transport
Reopening schools immediately after elections should be our highest priority to keep the School calendar on course. We should be cognisant of our past and more so the effects of the 2017 post-election violence. Although schools were reopened, many students did not report back because they were stuck in their home areas, as roads were barricaded and public transport made insecure.
This was a devastating moment in our history.
We weathered the storm but that past was a lesson to the country. Kemi Sogunle said, “Without making mistakes, there won’t be lessons learned. Without getting hurt, there won’t be knowledge gained. The only way we grow is by learning from the past. Always be willing to learn and grow daily. It’s how we come to know who we are and what we are made of.”
Dr Kapkiai is a lecturer in the School of Education and Human Resource Development at Kisii University. [email protected]
