At least 24.6 per cent of school-going learners have not used any method to continue learning at home since schools closed in March due to the coronavirus, a KNBS report has revealed.
The report which was released on Tuesday also showed that this is out of the 57.9 per cent of households with members who usually attended learning institutions prior to the global pandemic.
Of this, 48.2 per cent, which is the highest proportion of school-going learners resorted to homeschooling as a coping mechanism to continue learning at home.
The report showed that about 18.6 and 15.1 percent of learners in Kenya used television and radio as learning platforms while at home.
Only 12.2 per cent have been able to access online learning sessions.
The inability of underprivileged families to access electronics for online classes is the main reason for the slacking of learning in these platforms. Being that the majority of Kenyan children are from these families.
The majority of learners in rural areas and some urban areas cannot afford the luxury of online learning due to a myriad of reasons.
Access to internet connectivity, electricity, smartphones, laptops, airtime, and data bundles, such facilities are scarce in most rural areas.
In the wake of Covid-19 most parents have turned their focus on putting food on the table and not online learning.
Last week, Tharaka Nithi Woman Representative Beatrice Nkatha requested the Ministry of Education to consider supplying radios and dry cells to families that cannot afford them, yet they have children who need to follow the classes offered via Radio.
