According to the Kenyan Government, approximately 17 million learners were
disrupted nationwide following the first case of the virus in the county, announced by the
Ministry of Health on March 13, 2020. On March 15, 2020, nearly all learning institutions
closed following Ministry of Health guidelines to contain the spread of the novel virus.
covid19 is a deadly virus that was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Since
then, the covid19 virus has continued to spread fast to all countries in the neighboring
continents. The virus has killed many people and caused severe illness. The closure of
learning institutions not only affects learners and teachers directly but has also caused socio-
economic havoc such as exacerbating education inequality, causing an upsurge in the school
dropout rate, and loss of learning.
Exacerbate Educational Inequality
One of the impacts of covid19 on Kenya's education sector is that it has deepened
educational inequality. Social distancing regulations by the Ministry of Health in efforts to
curb the spread of the virus resulted in most learners staying at home. It is clear that rich
families are in a better position to cope with the challenges imposed and can sustain their
children learning at home, unlike learners from poor, vulnerable households who cannot
access resources like technology, sound internet, or virtual tutors. When learning resumes,
disadvantaged students find themselves behind their peers. Children with learning disabilities
and those living in urban slums are in dire deprivation of meals and food security made
available by the World Food Programme and government of Kenya through the School
Feeding Programme that was initiated in 2009, causing hunger and malnutrition (Kemboi,
2020).
Upsurge in Learner’s Dropout Rate
3
Another consequence of the covid19 virus is the increase in learner’s dropout from
school. Unplanned closure of institutions forced students to stay at home. Learning
institutions play a great role in the protection of students, especially girls in vulnerable
households. Home confinement poses potential challenges that, otherwise, the school would
have protected and seen them through. Learners from low to nearly no income households
are majorly affected. Home-based learning is hardly available, and learners end up engaging
in undesirable behavior like drug and substance abuse, fending for themselves, early intimate
relationships, increase in rape cases, teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence and, loss of
interest in learning (Azevedo et al., 2021).
Loss of Learning
Ministry of Health guidelines in response to contain the spread of covid19 virus
widened the physical contact between learners and teachers, substituting regular classroom
sessions with digital learning. Some parents are also put in a situation to enable home-based
education, which, in most cases, struggle to accomplish such duties, especially those with
limited resources and knowledge. Learners from marginalized conditions lose out on
essential learning times that negatively impacts their developmental growth. Cessation of
public library services also interrupts learning. Students cannot visit the libraries for
continuity in education because of the stoppage of social gathering in efforts to contain the
covid19 virus. Continuous learning amongst students has been negatively affected, leading to
loss of education (Angrist et al., 2021).
Conclusion
The covid19 pandemic has affected every sector, but education has been majorly
affected. The abrupt closure of schools, colleges, and universities has caused endless problem
among learners, teachers, and parents. One of the effects is education inequality. Learners
from a poor background who cannot access learning resources are denied quality, equitable
4
and inclusive education. Upsurge in learner’s dropout rate because of loss of interest, peer
pressure, and teenage pregnancy is another consequence. Failure of learning is caused by the
widened physical contact between learners and teachers is yet another negative outcome
being experienced. Ministry of Education should develop measures to mitigate future
challenges to ensure continuity of equality and inclusive education for universal growth
5
References
Angrist, N., de Barros, A., Bhula, R., Chakera, S., Cummiskey, C., DeStefano, J., … & Stern,
J. (2021). Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe: Estimating learning
loss from COVID-19 school shutdowns in Africa and facilitating short-term and
long-term learning recovery. International Journal of Educational Development, 84,
102397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102397
Azevedo, J. P., Hasan, A., Goldemberg, D., Geven, K., & Iqbal, S. A. (2021). Simulating the
potential impacts of COVID-19 school closures on schooling and learning outcomes:
A set of global estimates. The World Bank Research Observer, 36(1), 1-40.
https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkab003
Kemboi, L. K. (2020). Kenya’s COVID-19 Policy Responses Furthering Inequality.
Available at SSRN 3750751. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3750751