• He said following consultations with relevant stakeholders, it had been established that some learners, especially those in the rural areas without proper internet connectivity, benefit from community based learning.
•"We focused so much on the e-learning which has left out many in rural settings. With the community learning programme, all learners get an equal opportunity," he said.
The Ministry of Education has dismissed claims it is seeking to replace e-learning with community-based learning.
Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang on Tuesday said the two platforms are vital at this stage and are complementary, rather than one being a substitute.
He said following consultations with relevant stakeholders, it had been established that some learners, especially those in the rural areas without proper internet connectivity, benefit from community based learning.
"We focused so much on the e-learning which has left out many in rural settings. With the community learning programme, all learners get an equal opportunity," he said.
"All we are doing is blending e-learning and community learning because the two cannot be substituted. Learning is bigger than just preparing the learners for examination," Kipsang said.
He said the Ministry is in the process of finalising on mapping and grouping the learners before the programme is rolled out officially.
He said the mapping will play a key role in revealing how many learners have been on the e-learning platform and vice versa.
"We are working round the clock to better the process and although the community learning is already being implemented in some areas, by September 2 it should have picked momentum across the country," he said.
He said extension officers have embarked on an exercise to map out all open areas that can be used by learners in the community learning programme.
Kipsang said the mapping is critical in revealing the amount of space that is available for the programme.
He said the ministry is contemplating using school fields, community playgrounds and playing areas with an aim of meeting the laid down protocols.
Kipsang was speaking on Spice Fm's morning show dubbed 'the situation room'.
He said the Nyumba Kumi initiative has been used to map out where the learners are and how they can be reached.
"So far as of two days ago, we had registered 300,000 teachers. TSC is now mapping out the open areas where the programme will be undertaken to guarantee both the learners and the teachers their safety," Kipsang said.
He said the Ministry has established Committees that run from zonal levels to the national level and play a critical role in the situation analysis.
"Teachers have been trained on protocols that are critical during the implementation of the learning activities. Water and soap will be put in all the identified areas and every learner will be given a face mask before any activity takes place," he said.
He said the community learning programme will continue as long as the current Covid-19 pandemic is keeping learners out of school.
"Reopening of schools will depend on flattening the coronavirus curve which will determine the resumption of normalcy in the learning environment," the PS said.
Kipsang said since the pandemic brought a situation that no one had anticipated or prepared for, the ministry seeks to be innovative and engage learners in various activities.
This includes value formation, social responsibility, entrepreneurship, socio-cultural environment, creativity and arts, language, numeracy, games and fitness, life skills, home science among others.
This he said will help the learners appreciate the totality of life like from what happens in the kitchen, to the garden and in the business sector.
Kipsang said the education sector will need at least Sh6.5 billion to expand and improve infrastructure in the learning institutions before the resumption of schools.
He said with lessons drawn from the pandemic, there is need to switch off to a different mode of learning when the need arises.
"We are looking at a possibility where certain lessons to be delivered online. This pandemic has taught us lessons that we better be prepared to handle the education sector with such uncertainty brought by Covid-19," he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Kuppet Secretary General Akello Misori who said the community learning programme is well thought of idea to salvage a dire situation.
"This should not be viewed as a punishment. It is not necessarily teachers who teach the learners in classrooms but staying with them in their neighbourhoods," Misori said.
He said there is no curriculum that has been approved for the programme but an idea well executed through an ad hoc plan to keep learners engaged.