Scores of students in Naivasha have left school to join the lucrative sand harvesting and fishing businesses.
Mai Mahiu area is most affected, with youths from colleges picking up spades to make money during the Covid-19 closure.
Educationists estimate only 75 per cent of students in Naivasha had resumed classes on January 4. Rural areas recorded lower numbers due to early pregnancies and dropouts.
Jennifer Njeri from Elimu Mashinani Initiative said the pandemic had pushed the young people into the jobs.
“On a good day loaders can make even Sh2,000 and this has turned out to be one of the main sources of employment for the youths,” she said.
Njeri warned that the trend could have far-reaching consequences on education standards in the semi-arid areas.
“We already have an industrial park in this town which means more factories, but the worry is where we shall get qualified employees as the youths have dropped out of school?” she asked.
Earlier, Rift Valley regional commissioner George Natembeya had said many youths went into sand harvesting and loading to sustain their families.
Natembeya said that as schools reopened, many of the students who were making a quick buck had opted to continue working, a move he termed as illegal.
And in Lake Naivasha, the number of students involved in illegal fishing has increased.
Last week, two students including a first year in university drowned in the lake in separate incidents while fishing near Karagita landing beach.
(edited by o. owino)