With little household income and nothing else to do, other learners took up work in farming and trade around the same time, and this could also be a contributor to school absentee numbers this week, according to the Daily Nation. Health Executive for Nandi County in northern Kenya Ruth Koech stated that 289 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 got pregnant between January and September last year in the region, while another 5,717 aged between 15 and 19 got pregnant during the same period.
While it has not yet been determined why learners did not return to school, the Daily Nation reported that it could be due to girls becoming pregnant or getting married during the nine-month closure period. In 2020, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF raised concerns about prolonged school closures due to COVID-19, stating that they may increase the risks of teenage pregnancy, poor nutrition, and permanent school dropouts for children in poorer countries.Īlthough 15 million children were expected to return to school this week, Kenyan independent newspaper the Daily Nation reported that thousands of children failed to report back to school, with girls forming the larger part of these figures. Kenya has experienced one of the longest school closures of the continent and is the last country in East Africa to fully reopen its schools. Join the movement and take action on this issue here.Īfter being closed for nine months, schools in Kenya reopened this week to start a new term and resume the school year that was disrupted last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The United Nations’ Global Goal 4 calls for quality education for all and this can only be achieved if all children have equal access. Although Kenya’s schools finally reopened, a number of children in the country have not been able to return this has been caused by socioeconomic factors, such as a loss of household income, child pregnancy, or marriage. COVID-19 has affected the way children around the world experience education and, for many, attending school has not even been an option.
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