It was one year ago, that COVID-19 turned our world upside down. For many, the biggest disruption from COVID-19 hit the education sector. The crisis led to school closures, heavily disrupting the learning process of more than 18 million students across the country.

Inevitably, the period away from the classroom took a social, emotional and academic toll on teachers and children. Of course, school closures are not new in Kenyan history.  The period experienced during the coup attempt in 1982, when colleges and universities were closed for nine months in Kenya easily rivals the impact that COVID has had for the past year.

However, as the country comes to terms with this unprecedented disruption, little attention is being paid to the impact that school closures have on the lives of teachers. This is an important gap given that teachers constitute an essential workforce in all societies.

Indeed, there is no profession so intimately linked to the social and economic transformation of a country as the teaching profession. Being on the frontline of shaping the future of the next generation, it means that there is a compelling public interest and responsibility to protect those who practice our profession.

Before the current pandemic, the most prominent job stressors for teachers were mainly workload and behaviour management. Last year, the Teachers Service Commission released a report that found over 400 teachers sought mental health services across different health facilities in the country, in the month of April 2020 alone.

The report noted many cases of psychological distress among teachers that culminated in far- reaching consequences ranging from incidents of family separation/ divorces to suicide. COVID 19 pandemic exacerbated the situation.

In addition, UNESCO identified confusion and stress as one of the 13 adverse consequences of school closures. Working in education is exciting yet highly demanding, but often overlooked are the social and professional ties that the school environment impacts on a teacher’s mental health and well-being. This was so profound, that we have noted a negative effect among our members who developed mental health challenges as a result the COVID 19 caused disruption.

Sudden changes that involved removing teachers from their work environment became cognitively and emotionally taxing. For example, while at home, some teachers were forced to juggle with competing responsibilities such as home schooling their own children, caring for vulnerable family members, and/or managing their own mental health.

A combination of these circumstances presented a potentially highly stressful situation for teachers. Teachers should have the full support and encouragement of the government and leaders. They should never have to face mental and psychological challenges in isolation.

Women are a large and active component of the educational workforce and are more likely to experience (or at the very least, report) mental health issues than men. Special attention needs to be given to this group of individuals. The factors of being a woman and a teacher place these individuals at particular risk for developing depression, anxiety or burnout. Therefore, when it comes to promoting and addressing mental health concerns in and out of the classroom, Kewota advocates for the development of policies and plans that recognize the importance of integration of mental health into educational institutions.

The integration of mental healthcare into existing school health systems for example, can go a long way in early identification and effective intervention. Early intervention is critical. If left untreated, the symptoms of a mental illness may increase in severity, and its effects may become more serious and potentially life threatening.

It is KEWOTA’s view for instance, that before a teacher is interdicted, the employer should cater for a psychological assessment and therapy to ascertain the underlying issues of concern. Many teachers are suffering silently.

Equally, we propose the development and implementation of appropriate professional mental health training programs for teachers and other educators. Understanding what these issues are and the many different avenues available to effectively deal with them is an important challenge in today’s educational environment.

It is also important to implement infrastructures and support systems within our schools, for example, establish a mental health task force that can pioneer a program including education stakeholders, health experts and community links. Finding the answer to address mental health challenges are not always easy, and requires cooperation at all levels of the education system.

All in all, the camaraderie between teachers within the school and within the profession is an important resource that teachers can continue to use as they navigate the affective changes associated with the changes brought about by COVID‐19.

Benta Opande, Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Women Teachers Association