As secondary schools put pressure on learners in the rush to complete the syllabus under the current compressed academic calendar, stakeholders in the education sector have said the move is doing more harm than good.

An investigation conducted by Scholar shows that almost all secondary schools across the country have imposed a heavy workload on learners who have consequently been forced to handle too much school work in the packed academic calendar precipitated by Covid-19 lockdowns and the election period.

While students around the world lost substantial study time owing to the abrupt closure of schools following the outbreak of the pandemic, Kenyan learners, it has emerged, are grappling with unbearable pressures all in efforts to normalise the disorganised school calendar.

Academicians are now warning that the congested workload, where students in certain schools are being forced to attend classes and study for more than 12 hours a day could have lasting adverse effects on the learners.

Long learning hours

The Basic Education Act stipulates that learners in secondary schools should be in class for not more than six hours a day.

Apparently, a normal day for Form Four students in most Kenyan schools begins at 4.30am when they wake up and by 5.30am are expected in class for the morning preps before they break at 6.30am for breakfast.

A spot check by Scholar established that most classes commence at 7.30am and run till 1pm, save for a 15-minute break at around 10am.

The students resume classes from 2pm for marathon classes untill 5pm when they break for 30 minutes before resuming for what most schools refer to as “remedial classes” that run untill 7pm when they break for 45 minutes for supper.

The students are again expected to resume remedial classes from 7.45 pm that run utill 9pm. From that time, the students are expected to have group discussions that run from 9.20pm till 11pm.

The apparent learning tight regime in secondary schools completely contradicts the Basic Education Act Regulations of 2015 that bars any teaching whatsoever before 8am and after 3.30pm.

According to the Act, the period from 3.30pm to 4.45pm has been designated for co-curricular activities from Monday to Friday; while 5.00pm to 7.30pm for self-directed activities; 7.30pm to 9.30pm preps; 9.30pm to 6.00am bedtime; and 6.00am to 8.00am supervised routine activities.

Yesterday, Educational Principal Secretary Dr Julius Jwan warned headteachers condoning learning outside the government stipulated timeframe of “stern disciplinary action.

“The time allocated within the term is adequate for learners. If we get official complaints on the same, then we can make recommendations to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC),” Jwan said.

Educationists are now concerned over the long hours that learners are being confined in classes and academic activities daily, with limited periods for sleep and co-curricular activities.

“Secondary school students are in their teen years where the brain is growing fast. Most teens love to sleep as a natural necessity to allow the brain to grow. Fatigue usually sets in when the children get little sleep,” warns Dr Everlyne Jepkosgey, an educationist.

Fatigue and anxiety

Dr Jepkosgey says various surveys have linked overloading of learners to indiscipline (burning of schools) and high stress levels.

Another educationist Jonathan Wesaya warns that the rush to complete the syllabus through an exaggerated tight learning process would lead to fatigue and anxiety among leaners. “These are teenagers who should be treated as so. It is unfortunate that some teachers treat them like adults. And the issue is leaving teachers overwhelmed and under great pressure. The Ministry of Education must act before it is too late,” Wesaya warns.

The chairman of the Kenya Secondary Schools Head Teachers Association (KSSHA) Kahi Indimuli played down the issue, claiming that he was not aware.

“I have no comment, because I have no information on the same,” was all that Indimuli could say.

But in an interview with journalists last week, the director of Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology in Africa (CEMASTEA), Stephen Njoroge advised teachers in primary and secondary schools against rushing to cover the syllabus.

Njoroge said hasty syllabus coverage does not allow students to understand the concepts in a subject, which is the goal of effective teaching and learning.

“Let us not rush to cover the syllabus. Teachers should ensure students understand the concepts taught,” Njoroge said, adding that focus of the teachers should be how well students have understood what has been taught.

No time to rest

Secondary school teachers revealed that learners have no time to breathe in the crash programme calendar that saw the government increase studying terms from three to four every year.

As a result, learners are compelled to deal with bulky assignments, undergo short and sometimes ineffective evaluation, study without co-curricular activities besides having little time to rest. Both Satardays and Sundays and public holidays have also been turned into class and academic days, leaving learners with no time to rest.

“Some schools have rescheduled their timetables to fix the rare time for teachers to complete the syllabus. For instance, students in our school now wake up at 4am as compared to 6am previously. We allow them to go for preps so that by 6am, we have teachers in class who, depending on where one is with the syllabus can be with them even up to 11am (for schools with servants quarters),” a high school teacher from a boarding school in Naivasha, Nakuru County said.

A three-month content, a teacher stated, is now forced on learners in just two months raising questions on the fate of slow learners who require concepts to be repeated several times for them to comprehend.

“Students are fatigued and less entertained by continuous learning without breaks. We are worried that some could develop physical health concerns as a result of stress from over studying. This is a riskier route that can even cause mental issues among some learners, especially now that adjusting to the new way of doing things could take time,” another teacher said.

Interestingly, learning outside the stipulated time is facilitated and sponsored by parents through money for “remedial”.

The phenomenon of remedial or tuition classes, which educationists are warning to be a serious threat to the lifestyle of learners, has now become a norm in all public secondary schools.

Some of the reasons advanced for the support of extra tuition (remedial), include helping to cover the syllabus early, in revision, to occupy students constructively, boosts the performance of individual students and to identify needs of individual learners among others.

Signs of discontent obvious

The extra tuition phenomena started after 1985 when the 8-4-4 system of education was introduced to replace the then 7-4-2-3 system. The two-year advanced level syllabus was phased out and compressed with the current four years of ordinary level.

With the introduction of the 8-4-4 system of education, the subject matter that used to be completed in six years secondary schooling was now to be covered in four years.

In some cases, Wesaya said, extra hours in classs has led to depression and even cases of suicide. “We are already worried that signs of discontent among students are already becoming evident,” said Wesaya.

Bearing the brunt also are teachers whose free time has been absorbed by the ministry to cover more lessons for easier recovery of lost education time. “We are also not left out. The system expects us to complete the syllabus within the compressed terms, deliver content, assess and evaluate learners conclusively. Teaching is a calling and it’s divine, but teachers are also human beings who get drained. I must say that it has been strenuous to remain effective in our operations in the current circumstances. This is a giant rock that we have been forced to roll, we long for normalcy in the system,” a teacher from a school in Thika, Kiambu County added.

The crash programme is leaving no education stakeholder behind as parents have also started complaining over the heavy burden of school fees among other requirements, the high cost of living and joblessness among them notwithstanding.

In the current academic order, parents have only one week to raise school fees for the next term after their children break for short holidays.

For instance, a parent who has two children in a boarding school is required to pay Sh108,000 for their children in a week’s time after school’s closure, pointing to a cornering situation that most parents are forced to bear.

“We agree Covid-19 was no one’s mistake,, but can there be order and realism in the way the education sector should be handled? Parents are expected to pay school fees, purchase uniforms, feed the learners among other responsibilities yet some of us are jobless. It is time the ministry revisits the guidelines to consider the struggles that we are going through,” John Maina, a parent with two children in secondary schools stated.