Secondary school students look for transport back home in the streets of Eldoret town on May 4, 2024.
Members of Parliament are plotting to stop pupils in both public and private primary schools from reporting to school before 7.15 am saying it is against the law and the learners’ well-being.
Kisii Woman Representative Dorice Donya Aburi has sought a statement from the Ministry of Education on the trend of reporting to school early to allow time for extra lessons saying it is not only against the law but also affects young learners.
Ms Aburi complained that school-going children have been subjected to early morning reporting to schools where they are woken up as early as 5 am in order to catch up with school buses, with those in urban areas particularly affected.
“The move causes students to get less sleep which affects their academic performance. Students who get less sleep have difficulty in concentrating in class and are likely to obtain lower grades,” Ms Aburi said.
She pointed out that early school start times in schools may lead to the promotion of negative behaviours such as bullying and fighting, depression and suicidal thoughts due to sleep deprivation.
The lawmaker also said that sleep deprivation also has long-term mental health consequences such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.
Section 84 of the Basic Education Regulations, 2015 states that the official operating hours for all-day public or private school institutions shall be Monday to Friday from 8 am to 3.30 pm for class hours and 3.30 pm to 4.45 pm for co-curricular activities whenever necessary.
The Act further states that no day institution of basic education and training shall require learners to report earlier than 7:15 am
For boarding institutions, the Act states that the facilities shall operate on a 24/7 basis with programmes running from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 3.30 pm for class hours and 3:30 pm to 4.45 pm for co-curricular activities.
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According to the Act, from 5 pm to 7.30 pm in boarding schools, from Monday to Friday, self-directed activities are to take place, with preparation from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
From 9.30pm to 6am is bedtime for students from Monday to Friday, while 6am to 8am is for supervised routine activities.
"Our school-going children are subjected to early mornings in a bid to start classes on time, it's unfortunate to note that the majority of schools in the country have inadequate school buses and other means of transportation resulting in children being woken up in the wee hours of the morning to be picked up by the limited buses," said Ms Aburi.
The children spend a lot of time in the buses while being picked up and dropped off.
Ms Aburi also wants the Ministry of Education to do away with weekend classes, which many primary school pupils are subjected to at a time when they should be resting. This, she says, makes them tired.
Although the National Assembly began its recess on Friday, the Education Committee is expected to convene a meeting with ministry officials to get answers on the strategies it is putting in place to ensure that schools comply with the set regulations, including the ban on weekend tuition, and report back to the House two weeks after it resumes.
The ministry is also expected to tell MPs its position on the official reporting time for pupils in schools.
Ms Aburi said the matter was urgent and needed to be addressed before schools reopen to clarify what time students should report to school and what time they should leave.
“I’m told some students wake up at 3:30 am — what are you doing in school at that time? You get fatigued. Even the Gen-Zs are saying they don’t fear death, maybe they have experienced a lot of depression in school and they fear nothing,” she said in reference to recent youth-led protests.
Cases of school buses hooting in estates as early as 5am while picking pupils, especially in Nairobi, have over the years stirred public debate.
The matter has further been compounded by some parents who take their children to schools far away from their residential areas. This means that the pupils must wake up early in order to cover the distance and beat the early morning traffic.
According to the American Academy for Sleep Medicine, children who do not have enough sleep run a higher risk of obesity, mental disorders, injuries, diabetes and attention disorders among others.
It further states how much sleep depends on the children’s age: the younger the child the more hours of sleep are required.
Other studies have also shown that children’s sleep schedules are still developing during middle and high school, making it difficult to wake up early enough to get ready for school and stay alert throughout the day.
