KENYA: Online Learning not the Best Option for Seminaries, Kenyan Prelate Says
Bishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
After the closure of learning institutions as one of the directives from the government of Kenya to help stem the spread of Coronavirus, some institutions embraced virtual learning which a Kenyan prelate has described as not the best option for Seminaries.
“Seminaries could not adapt to online learning during this period of pandemic because of the nature of formation in the seminary which is integral formation and not just academic formation,” the Chairman of Seminary Episcopal Commission of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), Bishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba told AMECEA online in an interview Wednesday, June 17.
“There is an all-round assessment as a person is being prepared to the priesthood and in many cases physical presence of the individual is required in the formation house for the formation to proceed on well,” the Prelate explained.
The Local Ordinary of Kenya’s Nakuru Diocese emphasizes that the “academic part that could be done online is just an aspect of formation, but there are so many factors that are addressed and looked into during the process of formation of a person.”
Following the abrupt closure of schools which took place in mid-March prior to the official closing of academic year in learning institutions, the Bishop told AMECEA online during the interview that “Even though the seminaries were closed unexpectedly, we will reorganize ourselves to see how we can recover the lost time which is basically about two months. The Seminary Episcopal Commission will discuss, then advice the conference who will make the decision on that.”
“We have seminarians in various stages of formation who are supposed to move to the next level and then we have the component of the examination that were not done. So the Seminary Episcopal Commission will first address how do to deal with these issues then advice the conference who will make the decision on how to go about the completion of the academic year,” Bishop Muhatia underscored.
Echoing Bishop Muhatia’s message on the sudden closure of seminaries, the Rector of St. Thomas Major Seminary in Kenya’s Nairobi Archdiocese, Fr. John Kiplimo Lelei said, “First we will try and capture what we did not finalize because we did not even graduate in May as we intended to. We will work as a team with the Seminary Episcopal Commission and see how to finish the backlog.”
“Depending on what our Bishops decide, it is likely that the system may change a bit because when the seminarians come back, that is when they will finish the syllabus, and begin the new semester. The initial intake and beginning of the academic year will be interrupted with too,” Fr. Lelei told AMECEA online.
Bishop Muhatia further noted that pastoral work which is also part of formation of seminarians could not be carried out as normally done because of restrictions on public worship.
“Placement of seminarians in various parishes for pastoral work during the long holiday was actually supposed to begin in this month of June, though it also depends with the diocese since each diocese has its organization on placement of seminarians,” he said and continued, “This has not happened but we just have to bear with the situation, hoping that what has been lost during this period will be recovered in the years coming.”
According to the rector of Blessed Bakanja AMECEA College (BBAC) Fr. Peter Moudie concerning the pastoral work of seminarians he said, “For pastoral work as part of seminary formation, the Bishops will decide whether they will need to give the seminarians more time to have pastoral experience or not.”
Considering that BBAC is an international seminary with students from the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) region and others from South Africa, Congo, Rwanda and Djibouti, Fr. Moudie’s concern is the challenge on how the seminarians will report back to the seminary which is located in Kenya when each country has its own guidelines concerning COVID-19 pandemic.
“Most of our students are from different countries and the lockdown system varies from country to country. So we don’t know what will happen when Kenya reopen schools in September and lifts lockdown while other countries continue with the restrictions,” The rector said and added, “this will affect our seminarians on time for reporting back depending on the time each country opens its borders.”
