By Lydia Ngoolo
As schools struggle with the new norm brought by the outbreak of the Covid-19, the social distance which is the crucial rule in averting the spread of the virus has seemed to be a tall order in many schools across the country.
However, school heads have been forced to beat the challenge by applying creative ways.
Yesterday, three Permanent Secretaries toured Makueni County to check on the progress and level of preparedness in the schools within the region.
Mohammed Ibrahim (Defense), Solomon Kitungu (Transport) and Nancy Karigithu (Maritime) toured Unoa Primary, Makueni Boys High School and Makueni Girls School among others.
During their tour, they pointed out the issue of social distancing saying it is a yet to be achieved rule due to the congestion in public schools with inadequate classrooms.
Unoa Primary School has a population of 1,215 pupils. The large population, however, has prompted learners to study under the trees.
“The school also hosts physically-challenged children. We have a major challenge of expanding the classroom and lockers since there is no space. We are still in the process of seeing how it will work,” said the headteacher Musyoki Kiema.
At Makueni Boys High School, the social distance rule was reported to have been an almost impossible thing in dining halls, classrooms and dormitories.
The school Chief Principal Raphael Diwani, however, said plans are underway to make tents to create more space.
“This school has 1278 students with limited resources. However, we have procured tents where we will shift some of the students and use the classrooms as temporary dormitories,” added Diwani.
In Makueni Girls, a section of the girls is learning under the shades as a way of observing the set 1.5M rule. It was also revealed that some girls were already pregnant but the school ensured that the girls’ education is not cut by unplanned pregnancies.
Transport PS Solomon Kitungu called upon the school heads to be innovative enough instead of building more infrastructure since Coronavirus is just temporary.
“Kindly let the schools utilize the available spaces in classes. We have limited time which must be saved by being innovative,” added Kitungu.
