Calls for official remote learning policy rise

Four years after the Covid-19 pandemic and the shutdown of schools, educators find themselves in a familiar situation with disruption of teaching and learning.

This is after President William Ruto directed the Ministry of Education to postpone the reopening of schools indefinitely.

The directive effectively halted the planned reopening slated for May 6 due to heavy rains pounding the country.

And stakeholders argue, few steps have been taken to mount an alternative robust remote learning infrastructure to ensure continuity of learning.

The Standard has established that a number of public secondary schools are engaging learners on virtual platforms, such as WhatsApp.

“My daughter and the other classmates conduct discussions on WhatsApp and it is moderated by a teacher,” a parent at Naivasha Girls told the Standard.

Kenya Private Schools Association chairman Charles Ochome says while the closure of schools is still in the very early stages, some of its members have already provided options for remote learning for learners and teachers to consult.

“Some schools have been engaging learners on virtual platforms such as WhatsApp during the holiday and they continued the same when the schools reopened,” Ochome said.

While he acknowledges that little has been done by the government to ensure a robust remote learning alternative, Ochome says that local remote learning arrangements continue to exist in schools post the Covid shutdown.

Johnson Nzioka, the Kenya Primary School Heads Association chairman noted that schools might be engaging learners through local arrangements but no national directive had been issued to cover learners during the extended holidays.

However, he downplayed the loss of time at the moment noting that the period is recoverable without major changes on the school calendar.

Kenya Association of International Schools’ Jane Mwangi termed this as an eye-opener for educators to embrace alternative teaching methods.

“This being the second disruption, probably we need to think of an effective out-of-class solution that can be developed slowly so that we can switch to it if we have another disruption,” Mwangi said.

Benter Opande, the Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA) CEO noted there has been no proper planning to facilitate remote learning.