Kenyans’ love for education is not in doubt.
And it has not been hidden during these uncertain times of the deadly Covid-19 disease, which caused the closure of education institutions.
Daily updates on the pandemic by the Health ministry showing a frightening upsurge in infections and deaths notwithstanding, there is mounting pressure on the government to reopen schools.
But do our institutions have the capacity to implement the Covid-19 safety measures? Our boarding and day public schools are teeming with students.
If public gatherings, places of worship included, are discouraged in strict adherence to the social distancing rule, then it beats logic why we should reopen schools.
European countries have reopened schools. But the congestion in our public schools means the scarce basic facilities – like dormitories, laboratories, libraries, dining halls and toilets – are shared by many students.
Runaway disobedience is a prominent natural trait among teenagers, who are ever a thorn in the flesh of teachers when enforcing rules and delegating responsibilities.
It would, therefore, be illusionary to expect public secondary school students to, for the sake of avoiding getting the coronavirus, take leave from their truancy.
The challenge would be exacerbated by the fact that more often than not, it’s the students who do the cleaning at the institutions for lack of cleaners.
When not dealing with the challenges of observing hygiene — the cardinal principal in the war against the pandemic — schools will be grappling with ostracisation of students and teachers from the virus hotspots.
Our schools may not have a database of where all their students live or the places they visited during the break, but the learners know themselves and could use the official statistics to stigmatise their colleagues.
Can our schools even set up and run efficient quarantine centres? If public facilities handling Covid-19 patients reportedly face shortages of personnel, drugs and equipment, wouldn’t we be expecting too much from schools by telling them to perform the task?
With under 10,000 Kenyans so far tested for the virus, it would be foolhardy for anyone to think that schools have the capacity to carry out testing on the millions of students.
And who will provide the testing kits and equip the students and staff with sanitisers and face masks for free?
To say children eat a lot at home is tantamount to abdicating the divine role of parenting. Even at school, food is not free!
Nobody should reopen schools for the sake of being seen to be working. The same parents who want schools reopened will not hesitate to call the government names when their children fall ill.
The Luo say he who is in a hurry will eat sand in his nyoyo (githeri). Rushing to reopen schools during the pandemic could have sand crush our teeth.
