Fun, confusion and horror of missing pupils as teachers await reopening date

Tutors are putting in place measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 among learners once schools reopen, says the Teachers Service Commission, but many of them idle in staffrooms all day, the Saturday Nation has established.

A video on social media of teachers having fun at an unnamed school playground set off discussions on the need to force them to go to the institutions daily.

TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia directed teachers to go back to school by Monday this week. And in guidelines issued to all head teachers and principals two days later, the commission asked the teachers to put in place strategies on the observance of Ministry of Health protocols such as availability of water and hand washing points, social distancing, ensure schools have isolation rooms and  enhance management strategies of the pandemic once schools open.

“All schools must establish a Covid-19 disaster management committee,” read the notice from TSC.

“We expect visitors in our institutions any time checking on status of school preparedness for resumption,” said Mrs Macharia.

The teachers are required to sign registers, which are submitted to TSC sub-county directors every day for forwarding to the commission headquarters.

Covid-19 measures

Apart from the Covid-19 measures, the head teachers have been directed to hold staff meetings to discuss various issues and oversee cleaning.

They have also been asked to prepare timetables, schemes of work, and work on the teacher professional appraisal and development. They are also to update the teacher management information system, put in place psychosocial support systems and strengthen the guidance and counselling committee.

However, in most schools, the teachers are spending all day chatting or helping non-teaching staff to clean.

Several teachers who spoke to the Saturday Nation said there is not much to do at work without learners.

“To prepare lesson plans and schemes of work is not something that can take weeks. Most of us prepared them weeks before we resumed duty,” said a teacher in a school in Nairobi.

“After our morning staffroom meeting, we are required to clock in, then we sit and wait for evening to sign out and report back the following day,” he said. In the South Rift, teachers in most primary and secondary schools are idling at learning institutions after being recalled by TSC.

A spot check in Kericho and Bomet counties established that teachers check into the learning institutions in the morning and idle.

"We have been asked not to leave the school but await further instructions from the Ministry of Education," said Ms Mercy Bett, a teacher in Bomet County. Mr Mathew Korir, a teacher in Kericho County, said with students still at home, there is no work for teachers in the learning institutions.

In Vihiga County, teachers say they are idle. Without a clear routine or work plan, many arrive late at school.

One teacher said they only check-in to sign their presence "because we do not have our students".

Social distancing

In some schools, principals are forced to reach out to their staff to report to work.

At Chavakali Boys, however, the principal Mr John Kuira, said all the 68 teachers had reported.

Some schools in rural areas asked learners and parents in the surrounding to help in ensuring social distancing is observed in classes and help in cleaning.

For secondary schools, which have non-teaching staff, some teachers supervised work. “I have supervised the arrangement of desks today, the day is too long and I am waiting for it to end and I come back tomorrow,” a secondary school teacher, posted on her Facebook page

The heads were also told they are required to be in schools and only be away after seeking permission in writing from relevant offices. Mrs Macharia asked the teachers to ensure they work on syllabus coverage to recover the lost time.

“We are asking teachers to continue being creative and innovative,” said Mrs Macharia.

When he appeared before the National Assembly Education Committee, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha said it is time to reopen schools and said teachers were ready to ensure they recover the lost year. “The education task force on Covid-19 came up with a calendar that will ensure the school syllabus is recovered on time,” he said.

Displaced by disasters

But even as they wait for the reopening date, many students may not return to school as they have been displaced by disasters or clashes. School heads in some schools in Migori County are in a dilemma over the fate of learners after dozens of families displaced by floods are still camping in schools.

The families camping in schools in Nyora, Modi, Kabuto and Sere villages are hesitant to leave the institutions, which have provided them shelter since November 2019 when their houses were swept away by raging floods. “We cannot send the families away yet the ministry is set to reopen schools,” said one of the head teachers.

Brigita Awange, 76, said the affected families do not have alternative accommodation and “may not leave unless they are permanently resettled”.

“We took refuge in schools and churches when the heavy rains struck but we are yet to be resettled. We will only leave if the government effects our resettlement,” said the elderly woman.

Devis Makoyo, a community health volunteer, said the county disaster management officials had equally kept mum on their plight.

“I am not aware of people still camping in schools. As far as I am concerned, all flood victims have been resettled and those claiming to be neglected are attention seekers,” said county environment and disaster management officer Joshua Ngwala.

The infrastructure facilities in the schools have not been expanded even as the institution prepare to re-open after the Covid-19 break. "We are waiting for the institutions to be fumigated as directed by the government. Parents are monitoring the goings on at the institutions that were used as quarantine centres," said Mr Alfred Rop, the Kenya National Union of Teachers Bureti branch executive secretary.

In Homa Bay County, teachers have accused the Ministry of Education of sidelining them in crucial talks of reopening of schools. Teachers said they should have been consulted before being ordered to report back to school.

County Knut chairman Patrick Were said some of the duties that most teachers engage in require monetary support.

 In Kisumu County, teachers have been holding a series of meetings in preparation for reopening of schools.  In Isiolo, some schools may not reopen due to lack of enough space to allow social and physical distancing of learners.

Missing classes

A Knut official asked the government to expedite the release of capitation for free primary and secondary school education to ensure some of the duties teachers are currently doing like clearing bushes in the school compound becomes successful.

Isiolo County Education Director Koriyow Hussein, however, maintained that the schools were adequately prepared for reopening. In Marsabit, a visit to Kalacha location revealed that learners at the newly established Loglokho ECDE Centre had no classrooms.

And in Nyeri, Pupils of Gathuini Primary School in Mathira West sub county risk missing classes due to lack of key sanitation facilities and water.

The situation is so dire that the chairman of the school’s board of management Mr Maina Ndibaru and head teacher Mr Ngatia Gathieri have informed parents that the challenges the school is facing are likely to hinder the reopening of the school as scheduled.

On the other hand, schools in Mandera are not ready for re-opening due to lack of enough teaching staff, according to Mandera County Knut Secretary Kulo Mohamed.

Mandera needs 1,849 teachers for the 292 public primary schools and another 513 in the 57 secondary schools scattered in the county. Mr Yussuf Abdullahi, county TSC coordinator said the March/April mass transfer of teachers left Mandera vulnerable.

Faith Nyamai, Ian Byron, Vitalis Kimutai, George Odiwuor, Elizabeth Ojina, Derick Luvega, Dickens Wasonga, Waweru Wairimu, Stephen Munyiri, Jacob Walter and Manase Otsialo.