Practical activities are extremely important in teaching sciences as they aid the students in comprehending scientific concepts through participatory learning. However, most Kenyan public schools lack well equipped laboratories. Additionally, the diminishing resources resulting from post-COVID effects offer no beam of hope. Disruption from COVID also poses critical challenges of handling physical devices in times of such pandemics. To address this, the Integration of Virtual Labs to Enhance STEM Education for Girls (IVLESTEG) project was conceptualized to enhance girl’s access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) subjects in Kenyan secondary schools. The aim of this research study was to critically appraise the current technology models in relation  to girls’ access to STEM education with the overall objective of exploring the potential of e-learning in promoting participation of female students in STEM subjects in Kenya.  Upon development and implementation of learning in the V-labs, quasi experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of use of V-Labs in enhancing the participation of female students in STEM disciplines in secondary schools. Schools were  randomly chosen and classified as either experimental or control sites. This method allowed  for comparison of performance in STEM subjects of the female learners who were exposed to learning in the V-labs and those not. The findings will contribute to the development  of a framework for  appraising models for ICT use in STEM teaching and learning processes for girls that can inform practice, policy and research.

Background: Antimicrobial drug resistance is of great concern today. Infections by the antimicrobial resistant strains of Escherichia coli, including enteropathogenic as well as enterotoxigenic strains have been reported as major causes of deaths especially among young children in low- and middle-income countries. This has been augmented by antimicrobial misuse, over the counter availability, lack of adherence to physicians’ instructions, drug misuse in animal industry, and Poor sanitation especially in informal settlements. This has majorly resulted to organisms changing the genetic make up to survive within different environments. Such microorganisms are distributed everywhere within environments posing great risk to children, adults as well as the aged, especially in informal settlements. Main objective: This study aimed at characterizing Antimicrobial Resistant Strains of Escherichia coli Isolated from Sanitation Environments of Majengo Slum in Meru County, Kenya Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 61 samples from soil, water and drains swabs. These were tested against 5 antimicrobial drugs by Kirby disk diffusion method. The antimicrobial discs used included Imepenem (10μg); Ceftazidime (30μg); Cefotaxime (30μg); Cefoxitin (30μg) and Ciprofloxacin (5μg).  Results: Forty-two (69%) of the samples had Escherichia coli. These recorded antimicrobial drug resistances were as follows:  Cefoxitin 52.38%, Cefotaxime 42.86%, Ceftazidime 66.67%, Ciprofloxacin 61.90% and Imipenem 59.52%.  Statistical analysis revealed a significance in comparison (Kruskal-Wallis tests) between the two strata. Statistic=19.87938408896494 (P 0.00052). Conclusion: This study showed that Escherichia coli isolated from Majengo is pathogenic and resistant to antibiotics. Detection of Escherichia coli pose a great risk in the spread of resistant strains in human. Recommendation: Proper sanitation and hygiene awareness practices should be provided through education to the residents of this area.

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