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Half a million learners yet to report to school

Half a million learners yet to report to school
A flooded St Paul Nyamasao Primary School in Nyando within Kisumu County. Learning was interrupted by flooding due to the recent heavy rains. PHOTO/Print

Humanitarian organisations have painted a grim picture of learning activities in areas worst hit by the recent flooding with revelations that close to 500, 000 learners are yet to report to school.

Three weeks after schools re-opened in Kenya, a staggering 497,783 learners are said to to still remain at home or in temporary shelters, unable to resume their studies, Save the Children has revealed in the latest findings, calling on the government to facilitate the unconditional enrollment of displaced children to nearby accessible schools.

Assessments jointly done by the Ministry of Education (MoE), Save the Children and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) reveal that over 3,781 classrooms and 18,615 toilets remain flooded making them unusable for learners.

Save the Children interim Country Director for Kenya and Madagascar, Mohamed Abdiladif, pointed out that some roads to schools in areas like Garissa County are cut off, worsening the situation.

“The floods also washed away property and businesses, leaving parents unable to pay school fees,” he said.

Re-opening of schools had been postponed for the second time through the President’s directive to the Ministry of Education, following heavy floods that left a trail of destruction.

The damage to classrooms, toilets, and playgrounds in some schools within the country remains glaring to date, Abdiladif said in more revelations.

“Waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera in children are on the rise,” he said.

The Ministry of Health reports have indicated that 49 per cent of the reported cholera cases have been children between one and 10 years. This is after sewer lines in parts of the country burst leading to faecal matter finding its way into classrooms, playgrounds, and homes.

Further, learners who have been able to return to school have found damaged books, classrooms, and toilets, and their mental health remains a major concern.

“Ever since our house was affected by the floods, we are having trouble sleeping well.

“Children are scared and they start crying whenever it starts raining.

Informal settlements

“The teachers tell me that even in school, they get scared when it starts raining and they won’t calm down until the rains stop,” Jackson (not his real name), a parent in one of Nairobi’s informal settlements said during a press conference in Nairobi last Friday.

The assessment revealed that some of the flood-affected families are still living in temporary shelters awaiting relocation and resettlement to safer grounds. Children in these camps face serious protection concerns such as Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV), loss of walking aids and wheelchairs for children with disability, lack of clean water for cooking and drinking, and psychosocial stress and trauma.

Waterborne diseases

“The cost of inaction of climate-induced shocks is far too great. “Further, we are urging urgent public health measures to reduce risks of waterborne diseases in schools whose sanitation facilities are damaged,” Abdiladif said, asserting that all children have a right to a quality, safe, and inclusive education.

Subsequently, Save the Children is supporting government efforts by training county education officials on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in schools; collaborating with local partners, providing mental health and psychosocial support to children affected by the crisis.

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