Optimism and fear as 10 million learners troop back to schools

Cautious optimism marked Day One of school yesterday as more than 10 million learners trooped back to class after a record nine-month holiday occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Just like it was odd to start the 2020 second term in 2021, school was an unfamiliar territory to learners and teachers alike after coronavirus turned academic life on its head.

While learners were happy to meet their classmates and teachers, they were under strict instructions not to shake hands, hug or play. They also had to wash hands, check temperature and keep their faces masked.

At Olympic Primary School in Kibra, Nairobi, there were at least 70 pupils in every class as teachers grappled with accommodating more than 4,500 learners.

The school has only 16 classrooms, which, according to the head teacher Hamisi Musa, “are adequate” but the major challenge is inadequate desks.

The crisis was bound to get worse as hundreds of parents and their children camped at the school gate seeking admission.

The transfers are from private schools that closed down, parents who are unable to afford school fees after being rendered jobless, and those who have moved to different locations.

At Mweiga Primary in Nyeri, learners were divided into groups of 20 per stream, with the remaining pupils being forced to study under the trees.

Five classes

More than five classes were spread out all round the compound and many had to contend with noise and writing on shiny pages under sun rays.

“This school has 570 pupils and having them all in class while maintaining social distancing is not possible so we de-cided to take them outside just as CS [George] Magoha had said,” Mr Joseph Wagura, the headteacher, said.

In many schools, teachers had a rough time enforcing the ban on games among lower primary pupils who could not resist playing.

At Ayany Primary in Nairobi, children were happily interacting during break time oblivious of Covid-19 risk.

“We are happy to resume learning. The learners have come to school wearing masks. Parents have done a commendable job,” the chair of the Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association Nicholas Gathemia told the Nation.

Parents who spoke to the Nation also said they were happy to see their children go back to school.

“I am glad that children can now resume school,” said Ms Adhiambo Okuku, a parent who had gone seek admission for her child at Olympic Primary.

But despite the optimism, parents and school administrators are concerned about the consequences of the failure to fully enforce guidelines to protect learners from Covid-19.

The biggest headache has been social distancing, which Prof Magoha has admitted would not be possible to achieve in many schools due to shortage of physical infrastructure.

There is also fear that despite the seemingly low coronavirus positivity rates, the situation might change following the mass movement of people to different places over the Christmas period and also as learners report back to schools.

New term

“As you can see, children have reported back to school and all is set for the new term. Apart from overcrowding, everything else is normal. Every child is properly masked,” CS Magoha said at Olympic Primary while monitoring the reopening.

The CS, who announced that the reopening was “largely successful”, called on school heads and teachers to ensure that learners regularly wash their hands and wear masks at all times.

But public primary school headteachers also reported that capitation funds had not reflected in the school accounts as at yesterday. Mr Gathemia said they expected the funds to hit the accounts today.

Schools need not just cleansers and personal protective equipment such as masks for all staff and students, but also enough classrooms and desks," Mr Karima Tunjeh, headteacher of Tsunza Primary in Kwale, said.

This came as faith leaders encouraged parents to send their children back to school as part of a back-to-school campaign by the Education ministry, Unicef-Kenya and the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK).

Reverend Joseph Mutie, the chairman of IRCK, said:  “It’s important that we don’t lose a generation because of us not giving them adequate knowledge.”

Additional reporting by Mwangi Muiruri, Charles Wanyoro, Stephen Munyiri, Alex Njeru, Reginah Kinogu, Lucy Mkanyika, Fadhili Fredrick, Winnie Atieno, Shaban Makokha, George Odiwuor, Vitalis Kimutai, Lucy Mkanyika and Fadhili Fredrick