EDITORIAL: Tackle schools’ disparity - Business Daily

Editorials

EDITORIAL: Tackle schools’ disparity

Tuesday, April 21, 2020 22:04

By EDITORIAL

Since the closure of schools last month when President Uhuru Kenyatta directed all learning institutions be closed down as part of far-reaching measures to stem the spread of coronavirus, there has been a rise of online learning programmes.

Many schools, especially private ones, have turned to digital classrooms, while the Education ministry, through the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, has released broadcast lessons on radio and television.

While these efforts are commendable, they presume that all households have radios, TVs, smartphones, computers and other accessories necessary for learning, yet this is not the reality in many homes. At the same time, online learning requires supportive infrastructure such as electricity and internet connectivity, which are either unaffordable, unavailable or unreliable in different parts of the country.

This disparity puts learners in homes that have no access to the gadgets or infrastructure at a disadvantage.

There is, therefore, need for more innovations that will increase access to learning materials, especially in poor and marginalised areas to reduce the gap between them and those that are better equipped.

and especially those sitting for the national examinations at the end of the year. Education Secretary George Magoha has so far ruled out postponement of the national exams. In some of the schools, learners are taught in real time via online apps, allowing them to interact and seek clarification from teachers, while their counterparts in public schools and areas lacking infrastructure continue to lose out, exacerbating the learning gap between the haves and have-nots.