A video showing school girls being fumigated as they reported back to school on Monday, October 12, sparked uproar among Kenyans.
The video showed school girls dressed in uniform being sprayed using a Knapsack Sprayer pump commonly used to control parasites and diseases in animals.
The schoolgirls were sprayed with the chemical meant to sanitize them as the school sought to adhere to Covid-19 containment measures put in place by the Ministry of Health as schools reopen.
This comes on the backdrop of an announcement by Education Cabinet Secretary Professor George Magoha directing Grade 4, Class 8, and Four 4 students to report back to school.
A number of Kenyans reacted to the video by calling out the school for exposing the girls to inhuman treatment in the name of sanitizing them.
“The question is, for how long will this program be maintained by the Government? Fumigating human beings like in a cattle dipping environment? Why not fumigate classrooms, and ensure there is enough running water in the taps and toilets, etc?,” noted Amos Ng’ongo.
“Wrong to the extreme. What they’re doing here is completely useless and of no impact, only spreads fear and stigma,” said Ezekiel Oranga.
We could not establish the name and location of the school at the time of publishing, but a number of comments claimed the school may be located in Kisumu.
All the girls in the video reported while donning face masks as directed by the Ministry of Education in order to protect the students from Covid-19.
Some of the comments, however, commended the school for taking extra precaution as the students reopened schools but called out the manner in which the sanitizing was done.
Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Professor George Magoha on Monday issued a new directive to teachers after the commencement of phased reopening.
“I urge Principals and teachers to compile a list of learners with pre-existing conditions, for example, children with asthma, so that necessary attention can be given to them,” said Magoha.