Introduction
In Kenya, the COVID-19 pandemic was first sighted in early March 2019 It was a surprise to everyone. By March 16th, 2019 all learning institutions had closed as directed by the President. The first case in the Country was that of a student coming back home from studies. Everyone went into "panic mode" because not even the Medics, had any idea what it was and how best to handle it. Terror engulfed the whole Country. Families were even afraid of each other, though they had lived in the same home a few days before.
The Cabinet Secretary - Health gave a directive for Social distancing to curb the spread of the virus. This was crucial for those who had to provide essential services and those staying at home.
The Kenyan government on sensing the rapid spread of the virus, and fearing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic among vulnerable school-going children closed all Schools with immediate effect. Ministry of Education had to act fast to try and arrest the situation by ensuring that very few children got exposed to the virus.
Taskforce committee to look into learning during the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 made face-to-face learning impossible. The government had to look for other ways of ensuring the continuity of education in Kenya. A task force was set up to find ways of bringing this to light. The Cabinet Secretary of Education directed that all learning would go Online. This was to take place from Pre-Primary schools to the University level.
Virtual Learning
Online learning began, the moment Mr. Magoha the Cabinet Secretary for Education, received the learning program from the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). Private schools acted fast to make money from these online classes thus maintain the running of the School. These schools operate through fees paid by parents, and pupils were not in school. Public schools were not ready yet, and because of this, there was little or no learning at all here. The program helped most Urban pupils by giving them access to learning through the media. Students from rural, and marginalized communities suffered because they could not access this.
In conclusion, the government did its best to enable access to virtual learning but it never had the intended positive impact on learning continuity in Kenya during the crisis. Some pupils could not learn at all during the pandemic. This was bad for a Country considered to be among the top in the African continent's economic growth. COVID-19 affected the whole of the Kenyan Education System by halting proper learning for two years. For this reason, all Kenyan students had to repeat, and there were no examinations held until 2021
