Government Needs Ksh 400 Billion For School Reopening

The government of Kenya will require additional 400 billion shillings to comply with Covid-19 social distancing guidelines ahead of primary and secondary schools reopening.

According to the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK),  the government would have to construct an additional 367,000 classrooms on top of the current 300,604 to accommodate 20 learners per class when schools reopen in January.

Education and Health ministries published school reopening Covid-19 protocols that required classrooms to achieve the 1.5-meter social distancing rule.

The 1.5-meter social distance requirement is set to see only 20 students per class compared to an average of 50 before the pandemic.

Before the pandemic struck, most schools were already grappling with infrastructure challenges with classrooms holding an average of 50 learners.

“Based on a back-of-the-envelope calculation, we would need about Sh400 billion to build and equip additional learning spaces to accommodate 20 learners per classroom in primary and secondary schools,” AAK President Mugure Njendu said.

Currently, learning institutions have 300,604 classrooms in both primary and secondary schools that accommodate millions of students.

Initially, the Ministry of Education had set aside Ksh 11.4 Billion for development purposes to the Department for Basic Education in the financial year 2020-2021.

The figure is, however, Ksh388.6 Billion short of the AAK projection leaving schools with a challenge, less than a month to reopening.

The architects reckon the government needs to build an additional 245,000 and 122,000 more classrooms in primary and secondary schools respectively, to achieve the 1.5-meter social distancing Covid-19 health protocol.

In 2018, the Ministry of Education rolled out a 100 percent transition policy to secondary schools with little infrastructural improvement at schools.

This saw learning institutions grapple with congestion in dormitories, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and dining halls.

Secondary schools have been the most affected by the infrastructure challenge since the Ministry of Education rolled out the 100 percent transition policy without a corresponding focus on expanding the infrastructure. Since the move, dormitories, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and dining halls have been congested

According to Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has admitted several times that achieving social distancing in schools will be a challenge and that learners will need to wear face masks, have their body temperatures checked, and wash hands.