How government response to covid-19 has disrupted education calendars and learning in Kenya

• The intervention measures were ways of containing the virus from spreading across the nation.
• Learning institutions are likely to remain closed for a longer period thus keeping millions of learners at home. 
• It has since remained unclear whether the parents who had cleared the whole year’s fees will be refunded the second and third terms fees or not. 
• Drastic changes to the school calendar have been made to recover the time teachers and learners have lost to the coronavirus pandemic. 
  

The country has experienced a prolonged closure of schools by the government since the first case of the virus was recorded in the country. The intervention measures were ways of containing the virus from spreading across the nation, this has raised more concern among the parents, teachers, and education stockholders. Among the major concerns are that the country may record a high dropout especially among vulnerable communities and learners due to early marriages and teenage pregnancies.  This because the learners have remained at home for a long thus making them exposed to violations.

Learning institutions are likely to remain closed for a longer period thus keeping millions of learners at home. The intervention measures have disrupted the school calendar and learners will have to retake lessons of the classes they are in when the pandemic is finally brought under control and learning resumes. This might discourage some learners that may make them drop out of school. On the other hand, it has since remained unclear whether the parents who had cleared the whole year’s fees will be refunded the second and third terms fees or not. And if the money will be refunded to such parents the question remains whether the government will also order the parents who had not cleared the first term's fees to clear since their children benefited from the services were provided during that period.

Read: How the use of online learning has revealed the disparity in access to education resource between private and public school; Case study of Migori County

The interruption of the learning process in the country has further increased anxiety and uncertainty regarding the National Examinations, increased psychological trauma among learners, parents, and teachers. The prolonged closure of schools has led to the loss of jobs and income for the non-teaching staff, BOM teachers, and those from private learning institutions as well as those who were supplying foodstuffs and other commodities to schools. This has resulted in a high economic dependence ratio where those working including education officials and teachers are supporting the wider community and relatives who have experienced the loss of income as a result of the pandemic.

Drastic changes to the school calendar have been made to recover the time teachers and learners have lost to the coronavirus pandemic. These changes include delays in re-opening schools that have affected the completion of the syllabus, owing to the pandemic that disrupted learning.