Homeschooling is on every parent’s lips. It has become the number one cause of worry and stress to parents all over the country. This is after all schools across the country were shut down in a bid to curb the spread of Coronavirus disease, which is still raining havoc worldwide.
The Kenyan government is at its wits’ end figuring out what they will do to ensure that the education of children continues. In the usual ‘copy-paste’ behavior they have introduced homeschooling. This is a concept that they have not even outlined in the Kenyan Constitution.
Not as easy as 123
But as I said, all they do best in is ‘copy-paste’. But homeschooling is a foreign term in as much as it is also a foreign concept in our country.
There are countries across the world that have succeeded in home schooling. For instance, United Kingdom, Unites States of America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. This is because the governments have put in place strong and working guidelines to ensure the continued education of their children in case of such emergencies.
These are governments that are serious about the future of their children and invest in it. Unlike our government that is always gambling with its children’s future. This can be reiterated by the tag of war that was witnessed when the CBC (Competency Based Curriculum) was being introduced. It speaks volumes about a government that claims to care yet its actions are far from what they speak.
Our government is a copycat: copying what other powerful nations have done yet not ready to put in the necessary investment. Where is the countrywide electricity connection? Or even nationwide internet connection?
All they do is copy paste without knowing that countries have worked tirelessly day and night to ensure that all these nitty gritties are considered and that every single home has all the necessary facilities for home schooling. But here in Kenya,the government doesn’t care.
What happened to the laptops they were to give to all kids? They only give half-baked directives in stern and commanding voices to schools to give children homework while at the back of their minds they know this cannot work. Then more threats are given and that is where their responsibility ends.
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Then the burden is put on the poor parents who have so much to deal with especially now that companies are closing down and have no income.
The government gave a directive for full closure of all learning institutions. At first, this was a joy to many children. But this joy was ended the moment they got home and there were strict directives that children were to stay in their own homes.
This has prompted their parents and guardians to explain to their small and growing minds in the simplest words possible that Coronavirus is a deadly disease and that they need to keep distance and stay at home to avoid contracting the virus.
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As time has gone by, the children are now getting worried. They are now imagining how disastrous this can be to their education since there seems to be no hope for them to go back to school.
Running to the government is always our first instinct when faced with problems. But the government seems to be as confused as the parents and children. They, too, do not know when the pandemic will end and when we will resume our daily activities and routines.
Internet access in Kenya
We are all running and calling on the government for help but the government is as clueless as we are. We are all operating blindly without knowing where we are heading. The children are crying to their parents about their education. But the parents are all crying to the government to give a way forward.
The most worrying situation lies upcountry and in the slums. Those kids also have exams like every other child. They have no access to the internet due to lack of electricity especially in rural areas.
Children are imagining how disastrous this can be since there seems to be no hope for them to go back to school.
If under normal circumstances these kids study under trees, what makes this deluded government think they will get access to a radio, leave alone TV or internet, a common radio? Should they all go and crowd in one home in search for knowledge? But what about the social distancing which is the very reason all schools were closed? Isn’t this beating the purpose for the whole concept?
The sad thing is that all these children will have to sit for the same exams despite the fact that a certain small percentage in the urban areas have an upper hand.
Do these children belong to a lesser God? Who will come to their aid? Is the government listening or are they busy looting the donations for the Covid-19 pandemic? Let us all pray as a nation for God’s forgiveness. He is our only hope and the only one who can get us through all these problems.
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