Kenyan schools reopen after coronavirus shutdown

Kenyan schools  reopen  for the first time since March 2020, when the government closed schools  after its first COVID-19 case.

The country is the last in East Africa to fully reopen its schools. Children in grades four, eight and 12 returned to class in October so they could prepare for exams postponed amid the pandemic.

The World Health Organization and the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF say prolonged school closures due to COVID-19 present many risks for children in poor countries. Higher rates of teenage pregnancy, poor nutrition, and permanent drop outs from school are among the dangers.

Most boys and girls wore masks as they stood outside the Olympic Primary School’s gates, waiting their turn as school officials took temperatures and squirted hand sanitiser into their palms.

The real danger, however, lurked inside.

“The government has said our children must go, but they are not safe according to how I see it,” said 54-year-old parent Maurice Oduor, questioning how social distancing can be practised with about 100 students squeeze into each room.

“There are no classrooms built and no desks added here,” he added.

When the children sat down for class, they were shoulder to shoulder, three at a desk, as they were before the pandemic.

School administrators and teachers said they were not authorised to speak to press.

The government has tried to ensure the safety of students and teachers by distributing more than half a million desks to schools and supplies of soap, Education Minister George Magoha said.

Kenya’s COVID-19 cases began surging in October and peaked in November at the relatively low rate of 972 cases per day. The country has recorded a total of 1,685 deaths and 96,802 cases, Health Ministry data showed . Testing is limited.

Another parent, Maureen Adhiambo, said she was grateful her children had avoided the virus and were able to return to school. Her neighbour’s teenage son recently collapsed with breathing problems and died, in what the family believes was an unconfirmed case of COVID-19.

“Our school is overcrowded, that is my biggest concern in bringing my children back,” the 34-year-old said.