McKinsey's Generation Kenya helps keep education going during lockdown

McKinsey’s Generation has launched a pilot online learning programme across Kenya to make up for the disruption being caused to education across the country from Covid-19. The organisation reports a number of success stories.

At the end of March, Generation decided to get involved to cover the classroom learning gap across the country, launching an online education programme that would revise all the content covered before the lockdown began. 17 students joined in for the first cohort of learning, and a number of others have followed.

According to generation, students hailed from Eldoret EBC and the Thika Guru learning centres, and have managed to successfully complete a number of classes. Another cohort was launched in the first week of April, which saw 20 students from the Likoni and Changamwe centres engaged, 18 of whom successfully completed the training.

Classes were deliver online via Google Classrooms, which is an online platform that can be used to post tests and learning material. Meanwhile, instructive videos, audio notes and texts were distributed to students via WhatsApp. Generation reports that WhatsApp was an effective way to draw participation from all students involved.

Generation launched in Kenya in 2014, and has since been active in the training and education landscape across the country. More than 1,500 youth have been trained via Generation programmes in Kenya. Now, the organisation is adapting to new conditions and looking to minimise the negative impact of the pandemic. 

“We are excited that our learners have taken up online learning which has not only provided the platform to learn, but also an avenue for wellness checks that have gone a long way in coping during this season. Online instruction has so far enabled learners to access learning materials, enabled the flexibility of online learning, and has promoted Instructors’ feedback and follow-up,” said Generation in a statement.

CEO of McKinsey's Generation Kenya Ramakrishnan Hariharan indicated that the organisation is planning to ramp its efforts to navigate the current crisis. “We are carefully monitoring the shifts in hiring patterns so that we can align our existing programs to match available job opportunities. Our Alumni remain at the top of our minds and we are brainstorming on every possible way to reach out and support them during these trying times. We promise to keep you updated on all these initiatives,” he said.