Learners in most Kitui schools took their lessons in congested classrooms as they reopened Monday, putting them at risk of contracting Covid-19.
Head teachers said they did not have a sufficient number of teachers to be able to split up classes to ensure social distancing.
Kingingo Primary School head teacher Micheal Kyambe said he has a staff of four teachers to attend to learners up to Standard 7. He will require at least four extra teachers to split large classes to achieve social distancing.
Kenya Primary Schools Head Teachers’ Association Kitui chair Syanda Muthoka said understaffing was a nagging problem in the county’s institutions.
“Understaffing is the key issue that militates against the observance of social distancing besides lack of adequate infrastructure in schools,” Muthoka said by phone on Monday.
He said the government had not released learners’ capitation money, worsening the situation.
“Head teachers are having it rough as schools do not have money to buy things like face masks, sanitiser and equipment to set up hand washing stations,” Muthoka said.
Muthoka said that at least two-thirds of all enrolled learners in primary schools across Kitui had turned up on the first day of the new term.
Teachers also observed a reluctance by the learners to put on face masks whenever they were on their own.
Although most learners had masks, most of them kept them in their pockets and only wore them whenever a teacher was around. Others were seen interacting with their school mates as their masks hung on the chins.
Image: Musembi Nzengu
At Itivanzou Primary School in Kyuso, teacher Eric Muneeni taught the learners on the importance of permanently having the mask on and how to wear them correctly.
Muneeni said he had watched many pupils putting on the masks improperly, with some not covering the nose.
Itivanzou Primary had spacious classrooms to allow social distancing but the desks were inadequate. There were also several handwashing stations to be used by both learners and teachers at the school.