Schools are set to reopen next week after a two week delay due to the ongoing rains in the country.
Parents are now preparing to send their learners back to school for the second term
However, some schools are damaged by water and unfit for use by learners while others serves as camps for internally displaced people by the floods.
Monday 13th next will mark the beginning of the second term in Kenya or at least according to the expectation and wish of the government of Kenya. The government set this date as the new opening date after heavy consultations with education stakeholders and the Kenyan metrological department.
Government Faces Another Headache Following New School Reopening Dates
When president William Ruto announced Monday 13th as the new opening dates for second term in Kenya, it was a race against time for everyone to ensure that learners are back in school on the set dates. For parents, their responsibility starts and ends with facilitating learners to go back to school by providing a means and school fees.
For the government though, the case is different. Operating on a time constraint, the government is racing against time to ensure that all schools are ready on or before the opening date. However, with what is currently happening in the country it looks like the government might just fall short in some areas.
Some Schools are Badly Damaged
The ongoing rains have inflicted serious damages on some schools in the country rendering them unusable at least for the time being. Collapsed classes, water logged play grounds and sunken latrines are just but some of the cases witnessed in some schools in the country. With schools opening Monday next week, it still remains unclear whether the government will have managed to rehabilitate the affected schools or found a befitting alternative to suit the affected learners.
Already, the government is suggesting moving some learners to different schools as an interim solution to the ensuing problem. However, even this solution in itself however good it might sound and appear could still prove to be impractical when scrutinized in different dimensions.
First, to which schools will the government move the affected learners to and how will these learners be accommodated in their new schools owing to the difference in syllabus coverage in different schools? Two, considering that most public schools are always densely populated and with scarce resources, will the government provide additional resources to cater for the arriving students like buying them more books and desks or even constructing a few more classes all that in a space of under four days?
Three, what about those places where schools are far apart with active security threats in the area, how will the government facilitate the movement these learners to and back from their new schools? Lastly, how will the government deal with the affected teachers especially those teaching in schools that have been damaged by water?
A Proper Solution Is Required
In a situation like this one, the government must resist every temptation to be expedient and act in a rational manner. It should take both its interest and the welfare of the students into account when looking for a solution to this problem and not come up with a solution that is only viable to them.
Though the government finds its back squarely against the wall, there are some painful decisions that it can take to deal with this matter. One, the government can carry out scheduled school reopening of schools where schools that have been hard hit by the floods will be allotted a later opening date. Two, the government can facilitate online learning for the schools hard hit by floods and use that to buy some time and complete the rehabilitation of the affected schools. These two solutions can provide the government with an interim solution that is friendly to both them and the learners and parents all over the country.
