THE NEED FOR TECHNOLOGY FOR SCHOOLS TO SAVE GIRL-STUDENTS FOR EQUITY IN LEARNING DURING COVID 19

There is an increasing need to have technology improvement in our schools now more than ever before. I believe that if technology is improved in schools,  our daughters will also have a chance to study and not be compelled to the socially assigned chores as they  stay home due to social and physical distancing due to covid 19. 

The threat of Covid -19 virus forced schools, the ministry of health and ministry of education in Kenya to prematurely end the first term in school. as a measure, student were given reading materials and because of the unpredictable end of the virus, the ministry facilitated e-learning for schools. I am aware that reading materials were send through computers and cellphones. but the question I have Is  how many students have laptops or smartphones with enough capacity to handle the reading material? how many of them also have access to the internet? my other question is how many of the schools sown any of the needed technological equipment needed to facilitate learning? I bet very few, with access to electricity, and internet, and maybe only in urban and semi-urban areas. it is worse for our rural girls wo remain at the mercies of cyber cafes. this exposes them to the risk of catching the virus. remembering that access to the cybers require money for the time spend and more money for the printing out the reading material that most parents in resource limited rural areas cant afford. Girls are mostly vulnerable because then they are asked by parent s to do the chores in the homes, while other learners are accessing. 

I am appealing to the ministry of education to equip schools and assist learners so they can continue learning while at home should the world experience another challenge like this. I ask the government to increase rural electrification to that rural communities can have light, and be to use phone, computers, laptops for education purposes. I also ask non-governmental organizations to invest in rural schools to save our girls who are compromised when there is lack of electricity and technological development in the rural areas. I ask those organizations supporting Small and medium enterprises to cushion rural women with small loans or grants that can enable them do businesses so they have money to take care of the educational needs of their children  At the same time, I ask parents to save our girls, by being friends with friends of their daughters so they can intervene with technological equipment which are nowadays available on the market for their educational use. Let us be sisters, and daughters keepers so that they can too can have the chance to continue with school while there is social distancing and lockdown.