Education CS George Magoha has been criticised over his assertion that learning is going on online and through radio and TV lessons.
Mwingi Central MP Gideon Mulyungi said on Monday the CS is out of touch with the reality on the ground since most students in rural areas are unable to access online learning materials. Others have no access to TVs.
The lawmaker said it was unfortunate for Magoha to appear on TV and insinuate that schoolchildren are studying online while at home.
“From the perspective of my constituency and the picture in most parts of the country, this is not happening and it is a lie,” Mulyungi said.
He said learners in rural areas and some urban areas cannot afford the luxury of online learning due to a myriad of reasons.
The legislator said the only place online learning could be taking place is in urban areas where learners have access to internet connectivity, smartphones, laptops, airtime and data bundles. He insisted that in rural areas such facilities were unavailable.
“In other areas, there is no electricity and this is more the reason why the much-hyped government laptop project collapsed,” Mulyungi said.
He said in the wake of Covid-19 parents have turned their focus of putting food on the table and not online learning.
Mulyungi urged Magoha to come up with well-thought-out innovative and practical solutions to ensure all students continue with their studies.
The MP asked Magoha to also show how learners will catch-up with time lost during the Covid-19 pandemic and how parents will be compensated for the fees they had paid before schools were closed due to the coronavirus.
source https://www.the-star.co.ke/
