The government will this Friday begin countrywide roll-out of laptops and tablets to public primary schools.
The Ministry of ICT through the ICT Authority targets to deliver 1.2 million devices to 22, 000 public primary schools by December under the Digital Literacy Programme (DLP).
The laptops for teachers and tablets for children will be loaded with Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) approved content for class one and two in five subjects.
The Cabinet Secretary Ministry of ICT Joe Mucheru, said the digital literacy programme will play a critical role in enabling Kenya achieve the status of a knowledge based economy.
“We are now starting on a journey that will without a doubt transform not just the education sector but the entire economy. When we put these devices in the hands of our children, we are securing not just their future but that of the country and look forward to being a global IT power house in a few years,” said Mucheru.
The programme is also being implemented through a multi-stakeholder approach that will bring together different Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Cabinet Secretaries and Principals are supposed to lead in the distribution of devices to the schools in different parts of the country over the next one month.
“Throughout October, all Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries will travel to different public primary schools where they will oversee the delivery and installation of the devices,’’ said Mucheru at a press briefing.
He further stated, “Since the programme was conceptualized, we have always ensured that we involve as many stakeholders as possible. This is because there are different facets to the project that cannot be handled by one agency.”
In addition to enhancing learning and teaching in schools, the programme has had ripple effects in different areas across the country.
These include access to power connectivity, increased security as well as schools benefitting from improved infrastructure.
“The programme is having secondary benefits ranging from lighting up far flung areas that had no electricity to triggering subsidiary economies that complement the project,” said Mucheru.
The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum through the Rural Electrification Authority and Kenya Power have almost concluded connecting all schools to the electricity grid and giving them solar systems.
The Ministry has requested schools which may have been inadvertently left out to contact them.
The country-wide rollout follows a successful pilot that was undertaken in May and June, under the pilot, also referred to as Proof of Concept (POC) phase whereby three schools from every county and nine special education institutions, received these devices that they have since been using in teaching and learning.
“During the POC phase, we witnessed children from different backgrounds interact with the devices for the first time and within a few hours able to use them with ease. Now imagine what such a child will be able to do with the tablet in a few months,” said Mucheru.
The Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Fred Matiang’i said over 70,000 Teachers have been trained on incorporating ICT in teaching and learning and that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been handling the training of teachers.
To guarantee quality delivery of the programme and support the teachers, ICT officers are currently being trained and will later be deployed to the counties thereafter as quality inspectors to go around the schools.
“This programme is quite crucial to the advancement and welfare of our children and nation and will touch every single household,” he said.
There are plans to start assembly of devices locally, with the two consortia (JKUAT/Positivo BGH and Moi University/JP Courto) already setting up assembly plants. This is expected to transfer skills to Kenyans and ensure sustainability of the project.