Radio lessons my foot! North Eastern leaders rubbish Education CS Magoha’s hard stance on the upcoming national exams
Leaders from the North-Eastern region have rubbished the ongoing online learning programs being aired by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, KICD as a means of covering the syllabus.
The two: Aden Duale (Majority leader) and Issak Abey (Chair, EFP) said that learners from their region cannot access the lessons currently being aired through radio, television, and online learning platforms.
According to Duale, the heavy rains have obliged most families to leave their homes and camp in public schools for safety. The heavy rains are thus a key impediment in sustaining homeschooling.
“The schools in Garissa are now being used by flood victims. There is no radio, let us not cheat ourselves. Let the CS come out clearly and even tell us this exam he is not going to postpone; it is like he knows when coronavirus is going to end,” said the enraged Duale.
KICD Lessons and time-table
His counter-part Abey said that the region has been worst hit by floods. Therefore, there is no way learners can access online learning. This makes it difficult for them to access KICD lessons being aired as scheduled in the time-table.
2020 KCSE and KCPE national exams
Abey further added that it will be extremely unfair for the Ministry of Education to subject learners from the region to national exams like the rest of the candidates from other parts of the country given the challenges they are going through right now.
According to Abey, learning was disrupted long before the advance of the coronavirus pandemic during the mass transfer of teachers from the North Eastern region.
In January, learning in the North Eastern region was disrupted following the mass transfer of non-local teachers. The lawmaker was thus driving a point home that even if schools were to be reopened next month, learners from the region are likely to lag behind.
“Learning in this region stopped way before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the beginning of the year, a total of 2, 340 non-local teachers were transferred following a terror attack in January,” said Mr. Abey.
Total closure of schools
In addition to the afore-mentioned woes, learners from the North Eastern have also been away from school for over two months now following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive ordering the total shut down of schools to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The leaders’ plea to the Ministry is simple, equality. It is high time the MOE engages key stakeholders in the education sector to come up with a plan aimed at promoting equality in the education sector.
