A report by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform (PWPER) has painted a picture of the challenges learners have to go through in their quest to acquire knowledge.
The report which was handed over to President William Ruto at State House on Tuesday has brought out the grim state of affairs in schools, especially occasioned by the 100 percent transition directive by the government.
According to the report, a 100 percent transition policy has led to a rapid increase in enrolment, especially in National Secondary Schools.
This however has not corresponded with adequate funding to build more classrooms and dormitories, leading to congestion in classrooms and dormitories with almost no space between beds.
"As a result, students would not escape easily in an emergency like a fire outbreak,” the report warns.
This is happening in the wake of public outcry concerning perennial school fires where some students lost their lives, others got injured, and schools' properties worth millions were destroyed.
The report further raised concern that most private and public schools were not adhering to the official school hours.
This has contributed to fatigue among learners and teachers thus causing distress among learners as it denies them time for play, rest and engaging in family time.
“Learners in some of the boarding schools rarely get adequate sleep hours while those in day institutions were forced to report very early and leave school late in the evening,” the report says.
The PWPER was appointed on September 29, 2022, by President William Ruto through a Gazette Notice and was chaired by Raphael Munavu.
The appointment was informed by concerns raised by the public on the implementation of CBC and the general need to carry out reform in the entire education sector.
The task force collected data from the public including Kenyans in the diaspora by way of both physical and digital submissions and listening to the stakeholders’ views in Town Hall meetings at the county level.
The task force also received submissions from learners, teachers, parents, faith-based organisations, youth, teachers’ associations, workers’ unions, civil society, academia, private sectors, elected leaders and development partners.